Initial jobless claims drop more than expected in past week

[Unemployment Benefits Application with calculator on note pad]
Bill Oxford

Initial jobless claims for the week ended Sept. 13 dropped by 33K to 231K vs. 241K consensus and 264K prior (revised from 263K), according to data released by the Department of Labor on Thursday.

The four-week moving average was 240,000, an increase of 750 from the prior week's average of 240,750 (revised from 240,500).

Continuing claims slipped to 1.920M from 1.927M in the prior week (revised from 1.939M), and also came in lower than the 1.950M consensus.

The numbers appear to support the narrative of a low firing environment in the U.S. economy. However, hiring has also been sluggish. Only ~22K jobs were added in August, [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4492706-us-adds-far-fewer-jobs-than-expected-in-august-unemployment-rate-rises-to-43] according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics initial estimate, slowing from the 79K jobs added in July. Fed Chair Jerome Powell calls it a "curious" balance in the labor market, as demand and supply are both shrinking.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.3% for the week ended Sept. 6, unchanged from the earlier week's unrevised rate, the Department of Labor said [https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf]Thursday.

Advance number of actual initial claims under state programs on an unadjusted basis were 194,478 in the week ended Sept. 13, a decrease of 10,384 from the prior week. Seasonal factors expected an increase of 17,401 from the previous week.

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