WASHINGTON – Initial jobless claims decreased 31,000 to 473,000 for the week ending Aug. 21, dropping for the first time in four weeks, the Labor Department reported today.
Continuing claims fell to 4.456 million, the lowest level since June.
Economists expected 500,000 initial claims and 4.478 million continuing claims, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Last week's initial claims figure was revised higher to 504,000 from 500,000. It was the highest number of claims since November. Continuing claims for the week ending Aug. 7 were revised to 4.518 million from 4.478 million.
The four-week moving average of initial claims, a less volatile figure, increased to 486,750, the fourth consecutive increase and the average's highest level since November.
The four-week average for continuing claims dropped to 4,508,750 million.
No states were estimated for this week's report, a Labor Department official said. Eight states reported a drop of more than 1,000 initial claims for the week ending Aug. 14 and two states reported an increase of more than 1,000.
