US Weekly Jobless Claims Fall By 14,000 To 284,000

Washington (Sept 14)  Initial weekly U.S. jobless claims fell by 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 284,000 in the week to Saturday, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Consensus forecasts compiled by various news organizations called for initial claims to be around 300,000 to 302,000.

Claims jumped to the highest level in more than two years during the previous week, with the government attributing this to the impact of Hurricane Harvey. The Labor Department did not revise that tally, leaving it at 298,000 claims.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average for new claims – often viewed as a more reliable measure of the labor market since it smoothens out week-to-week volatility – was up by 13,000 claims to 263,250.

Continuing jobless claims, the number of people already receiving benefits and reported with a one-week delay, decreased by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1,944,000 during the week ending Sept. 2, the government said. The four-week moving average fell by 2,500 to 1,948,500.

Traders monitor jobs data closely to gauge how aggressively the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee alters monetary policy.

KitcoNews