US Initial Jobless Claims at 197,000, Slightly Below Forecast

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

The Labor Department said on September 24 that initial jobless claims totaled 197,000 last week. That was 4,000 below economists’ forecast of 201,000 and 1,000 fewer than the prior week’s revised 198,000.

Continuing claims, which track workers receiving unemployment benefits for a second consecutive week, totaled 1.719 million. That was up 2,000 from the prior week’s revised 1.717 million, but 31,000 below the market forecast of 1.75 million.

Initial jobless claims are a gauge of overheating in the US labor market. An increase in claims can signal that an overheated labor market is cooling.