Thursday September 7, 8:32 PM
Jobless claims fell 9,000 last week
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. workers applying for initial jobless benefits fell by a steeper-than -expected 9,000 last week to the lowest level in more than a month, the government said Thursday in a report that still showed a steady labor market.
First-time claims for state unemployment benefits, an early reading on the resilience of the job market, dropped to a seasonally adjusted 310,000 in the week ended September 2 from an upwardly revised 319,000 in the previous week the Labor Department said. It was the lowest level since July 22, the Labor Department said.
The level of claims came in somewhat below forecasts of Wall Street economists who were expecting claims to inch down to 315,000 in the week ended September 2 from originally reading of 316,000 in the prior week. However, new claims have been stuck in a narrow range for much of the year indicating the pace of layoffs has stabilized.
Still, the drop in new claims pulled the four-week moving average, which irons out weekly fluctuations to give a better indication of jobless trends, down to 315,250 from 318,250 in the previous week
The number of Americans already on unemployment benefit rolls who filed so-called continued claims rose to 2.49 million in the week ended August 26, the latest period for which figures are available, from 2.48 million the prior week.
