Initial jobless claims fall to 222,000

Americans filed new jobless claims at a decelerated pace in the week ended 3 September, according to the Department of Labor.

Initial unemployment claims fell by 6,000 last week, falling to 222,000 from a downwardly revised print of 228,000 in the previous week and well below consensus expectations for a reading of 240,000.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, initial claims rose by 1,978 week-on-week to 175,842, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, came in at 233,000.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com