• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Down 6K

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In the week ending August 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 361,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 367,000 and down 9.5% from the same week a year ago. The 4-week moving average was 368,250, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average of 366,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending July 28, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending July 21 were in Puerto Rico (4.3), theVirgin Islands (4.1), New Jersey (3.8), Pennsylvania (3.8), Alaska (3.6), Connecticut (3.6), California (3.5), Rhode Island (3.4), New York (3.2), and Nevada (3.1). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending July 28 were in New York (+3,250), Washington (+485), Nebraska (+136), Mississippi (+111), and Connecticut (+46), while the largest decreases were in Kentucky (-4,884), California (-4,738), Georgia (-2,206), Florida (-1,840), and Ohio (-1,810). Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. Source: USDOL-BLS