Initial Claims Dip for 2nd Week

Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell for the second straight week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

For the week ending August 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims fell to 243,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The four-week moving average rose 247,000, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate held steady at 1.0 percent for the week ending August 13. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 13 fell to 1,415,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The four-week moving average rose to 1,424,750, an increase of 12,500 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 184,414 in the week ending August 20, a decrease of 3,039 (-1.6 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 1,958 (or -1.0 percent) from the previous week. Labor reported 298,791 initial claims in the comparable week in 2021.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate held at 1.0 percent during the week ending August 13. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 1,417,342, a decrease of 6,451 (-0.5 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 12,904 (0.9 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 2.1 percent; volume was 2,809,776.

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending August 6 fell to 1,448,533, a decrease of 32,948 from the previous week. Labor reported 12,007,688 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2021.