US Initial Jobless Claims Rise to 209,000, Above Forecast
JOON HYOUNG LEE
Summary
- The US Labor Department said initial jobless claims totaled 209,000 last week, 7,000 above the forecast.
- Continuing jobless claims came in at 1.777 million, below both the previous week’s level and the market forecast.
- An increase in initial jobless claims can be interpreted as a sign that overheating in the US labor market is easing.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
US initial jobless claims came in slightly above market expectations last week.
The Labor Department said Aug. 13 that initial jobless claims totaled 209,000 last week. That was 7,000 higher than economists’ forecast of 202,000 and 9,000 above the prior week’s revised 200,000.
Continuing claims, which reflect the number of people receiving unemployment benefits for a second consecutive week, totaled 1.777 million. That was down 22,000 from the prior week’s revised 1.799 million and 23,000 below the market forecast of 1.8 million.
Initial jobless claims are a gauge of overheating in the US labor market. An increase in claims can be interpreted as a sign that labor-market tightness is easing.
JOON HYOUNG LEE
gilson@bloomingbit.ioCrypto Journalist based in Seoul