U.S. Jobless Claims Fell 2K to 250K in Aug. 13 Week
August 18 2022 - 9:22AM
Dow Jones News
By Rina Torchinsky
New applications for unemployment benefits inched down last
week, a sign the labor market is holding up as the broader economy
shows signs of slowing.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, declined slightly
to a seasonally adjusted 250,000 last week from a downwardly
revised 252,000 the week before, the Labor Department said
Thursday. Claims totals have hovered around this level since
hitting a high for the year in mid-July, and are above the 2019
prepandemic weekly average of 218,000.
The four-week moving average for claims, which irons out weekly
volatility, was 246,750, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous
week's revised average.
Sarah House, senior economist at Wells Fargo, said the labor
market is strong but is showing signs of softening. "We are
starting to see demand for labor weaken," Ms. House said. "You can
see that in terms of things like job postings for new hires but
also seeing that in terms of the rise of initial jobless
claims."
Continuing claims, a proxy for the total number of people
receiving payments from state unemployment programs, edged up to
1,437,000 in the week ended Aug. 6 from a revised 1,430,000 in the
week ended July 30. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week
lag.
Write to Rina Torchinsky at rina.torchinsky@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 18, 2022 09:07 ET (13:07 GMT)
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