Weekly Jobless Claims Graphic. Number of Americans applying for first-time jobless benefits.
The Labor Department said Thursday first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 232,000, easily beating the most optimistic expectations.
The report shows that seasonal retooling in the auto industry has not stifled what has been an increasingly strong labor market.
The four-week moving average came in at 240,500, a decline of 500 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 241,000. No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending July 29 and continuing lagging claims continue to hover at all-time lows.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending July 29 were in Puerto Rico (3.8), New Jersey (2.7), Connecticut (2.4), Alaska (2.2), Pennsylvania (2.2), California (2.1), Rhode Island (2.0), Massachusetts (1.9), Illinois (1.7), and New York (1.7).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 5 were in Kansas (+2,267), Missouri (+1,332), Pennsylvania (+1,215), South Carolina (+1,035), and Texas (+915), while the largest decreases were in California (-2,952), Delaware (-229), Tennessee (-225), Mississippi (-74), and New Mexico (-52).
