In the week ending August 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 237,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 229,000. The 4-week moving average was 231,000, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 228,500. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.3 percent for the week ending August 23, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 23 was 1,940,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level. The ... (full story)

The number of Americans seeking jobless benefits rose modestly last week, suggesting that employers are still retaining workers even as the economy has showed signs of slowing. Applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending Aug. 30 rose by 8,000 to 237,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s more than the 231,000 new applications economists were expecting. The four-week average of claims, which softens some of the week-to-week volatility, rose by 2,500 to 231,000. The total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits for the previous week of Aug. 23 fell by 4,000 to 1.94 million. ... (full story)