Jobless Claims Dip 6,000 To 445,000 in Sept. 6 Week

Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment slipped 6,000 to 445,000 in the Sept. 6 week, the Labor Department reported yesterday, citing “no special factors” despite an upward revision to the prior week.

The previous week’s claims level for Aug. 30 was revised up to 451,000 from the originally reported 444,000. A Labor Department analyst said this upward revision was spread among the states and showed “nothing out of the ordinary.” The analyst did note that parts of Louisiana were without power during the reference week due to hurricane damage.

For the week ended Sept. 6, the seasonal adjustment factor had expected a decrease of 4.9% or 17,500 in unadjusted claims, but these actually decreased 6.2% or 22,137 to 336,643, the Labor analyst said. This explains “why the seasonally adjusted was down just a tick,” the analyst said. There were 245,526 claims in the comparable week a year earlier.

Continuing claims for the Aug. 30 week skyrocketed 122,000 to 3.525 million, their highest level since reaching 3.570 million on Oct. 4, 2003.

— Market News International

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