US jobless claims register sharper than expected drop
Jobless claims in the US decreased more than expected yet again in the week ended 27 August, according to the Department of Labor, hitting the lowest level for initial claims since the week ended 25 June.
In seasonally adjusted terms, the number of initial unemployment claims dipped by 5,000 week-on-week to reach 232,000. Economists had pencilled in a print of 248,000.
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, initial claims fell 2,492 week-on-week to 176,793, with notable declines being recorded in Connecticut, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Georgia. Going the other way, applications increased in New York and Massachusetts.
The four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, came to 241,500 - a decrease of 4,000 from the prior week's revised average.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com