Jobless Claims Fall More Than Expected for Week Ending August 13

The Labor Department reported Thursday weekly jobless claims fell by 4,000 to 262,000 for the week ending August 13, lower than the estimate for 265,000. The prior week was unchanged at 266,000.

the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 262,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 266,000. The four-week moving average–widely considered a better gauge as it irons out volatility–was 265,250, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 262,750.

There were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims and no state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending July 30. The report marks 76 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1970. However, long-term unemployment continues to shrink the weekly pool of eligible applicants.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending July 30 were in Puerto Rico (3.5), Connecticut (2.7), New Jersey (2.7), Alaska (2.6), Pennsylvania (2.5), California (2.2), West Virginia (2.2), Rhode Island (2.1), Illinois (2.0), Massachusetts (2.0), and Wyoming (2.0.

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 6 were in Pennsylvania (+2,359), Puerto Rico (+1,621), Texas (+1,196), Ohio (+952), and New York (+881), while the largest decreases were in Michigan (-2,186), Kentucky (-536), Kansas (- 283), Iowa (-280), and West Virginia (-124).