ZCZC
BCN-29
US-ECONOMY-UNEMPLOYMENT
U.S. jobless claims drop last week
WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2019 (BSS/Xinhua) – The number of initial jobless
claims in the United States decreased last week, according to a report
released by the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday.
In the week ending Aug. 3, the number of people filing for U.S.
unemployment benefits decreased by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 209,000.
Meanwhile, the previous week’s level was revised up by 2,000 from 215,000 to
217,000.
The report also showed that the four-week moving average of initial
claims, a method to iron out data volatility, increased by 250 to 212,250.
The previous week’s average was revised up by 500 to 212,000.
As an important leading indicator to reflect unemployment status in the
United States, a lower reading in jobless claims indicates lower overall
layoffs. The reading of jobless claims remained below the 300,000 threshold,
signaling a tight labor market in the United States.
For a bigger picture of U.S. labor market, American employers added
164,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent, the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Aug. 2.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1505