📉 US weekly initial jobless claims hit 224k as of Aug 9, below the expected 228k and last week's 226k. Signs of easing in the labor market.
INITIAL JOBLESS CLAIMS: 224K V 225KE; CONTINUING CLAIMS: 1.953M V 1.967ME
US Initial Jobless Claims (W/W) 9-Aug: 224K (est 225K; prev 226K; prevR 227K) - Continuing Claims (W/W) 2-Aug: 1.953M (est 1.967M; prev 1.947M; prevR 1.968M)
U.S. jobless claims edged lower last week, underscoring a labor market that continues to cool only gradually. Initial applications for unemployment insurance fell by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 224,000 in the week ended Aug. 9, the Labor Department reported. Economists had expected roughly 225,000–228,000 claims. The prior week’s figure was revised up to 227,000 from 226,000. Continuing claims, a proxy for the total number of people receiving unemployment benefits, dropped to 1.953 million in the week ended Aug. 2 from a revised 1.974 million. The level was below the consensus forecast of 1.964 million. Although claims remain above the lows seen earlier in the recovery, they are still well below the 250,000-plus range that would typically signal a marked rise in layoffs. The figures suggest employers are retaining workers even as economic growth moderates, a trend the Federal Reserve is monitoring ahead of its policy meeting next month.
