Initial claims in the U.S. for unemployment insurance declined last week to the level that economists generally had projected.
For the week ending August 20, initial claims were a seasonally adjusted 315,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 319,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported on August 25.
The department's four-week moving average for initial claims, which because it smooths out week-to-week changes is generally considered a better indicator of underlying labor market conditions, also was 315,000 last week, edging up by 1,250 from the previous week's revised average of 313,750. However, because the increase was small and the average number of claims remained relatively low, it is not a cause for concern.
