US Initial Jobless Claims Fall to 206,000, Below Forecast

U.S. initial jobless claims came in slightly below market expectations last week.

The Labor Department said on August 20 that initial jobless claims totaled 206,000 last week. That was 4,000 below economists' forecast of 210,000 and down 6,000 from the prior week's revised 212,000.

Continuing claims, which track people receiving unemployment benefits for a second consecutive week, stood at 1.799 million. That was up 18,000 from the prior week's revised 1.781 million and 9,000 above the market forecast of 1.79 million.

Initial jobless claims are a gauge of conditions in the U.S. labor market. An increase in claims can be read as a sign that an overheated labor market is cooling.