U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Rebound Modestly To 232,000

(RTTNews) - After reporting decreases by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits over the two previous weeks, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a modest rebound by initial jobless claims in the week ended August 17th.

The report said initial jobless claims rose to 232,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level of 228,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 230,000 from the 227,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 236,000, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average of 236,750.

"Initial jobless claims rose modestly in the week ended August 17, but remain at a level consistent with a small decline in the unemployment rate in August," said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

She added, "Claims are leveling off on a trend basis, consistent with our view that, while the labor market is softening, it isn't weak enough to warrant anything more than a 25bps rate cut at the Fed's September meeting."

The report also said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance increased by 4,000 to 1.863 million in the week ended August 10th, reaching the highest level since November 2021.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims also climbed to the highest level since November 2021, rising by 4,750 to 1,865,500 from the previous week's revised average of 1,860,750.

Revised data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday showed job growth in the U.S. was weaker than previously reported in the twelve months ended March 2024.

The BLS said the U.S. economy added 818,000 fewer jobs from March 2023 to March 2024 than initially reported, reflecting 0.5 percent weaker job growth.