Weekly US jobless claims decline as expected

Unemployment claims in the US slipped during the latest week with secondary claims again registering the largest decline.

According to the US Department of Labor, initial jobless claims fell by 12,000 over the week ending on 7 August to reach 375,000.

That was exactly in line with the forecast from economists at Barclays Research.

The four-week moving average of claims on the other hand edged up by 1,750 to 396,250.

Secondary unemployment claims however, which are those not being filed for the first time and which reference the week finishing on 31 July, dropped by 114,000 to 2.866m.