Special Report Your Job

Fewer jobless file claims for cash

The number of initial claims fell by 10,000 to 570,000 last week. Continuing claims drop by 119,000.

EMAIL  |   PRINT  |   SHARE  |   RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
By Julianne Pepitone, CNNMoney.com staff reporter

How many weeks do I get?
The duration of unemployment insurance varies by state. Here’s how many weeks are available where you live. More
My unemployment benefits ran out
These 5 have been unemployed so long enough they exhausted their unemployment insurance - just like half a million Americans about to face the same fate. How did it happen, and how do they cope without a weekly check?
Should the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit be extended beyond Nov. 30?
  • Yes
  • No

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of Americans filing for initial unemployment insurance fell last week, and the number filing for ongoing claims also sank, the government said Thursday.

There were 570,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended Aug. 22, down 10,000 from a revised-up 580,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said in a weekly report.

A consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected 565,000 new claims.

The 4-week moving average of initial claims was 566,250, down 4,750 from the previous week's revised average of 571,000.

"The labor market remains the biggest question mark in this economy," said Adam York, economist at Wachovia. "We aren't seeing the huge 600,000 levels of earlier this year, but obviously claims are still extremely elevated."

Continuing claims: The government said 6,133,000 people filed continuing claims in the week ended Aug. 15, the most recent data available. That's down 119,000 from the preceding week's revised 6,252,000 claims.

The 4-week moving average for ongoing claims fell to 6,241,750, a decrease of 27,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 6,268,750.

The initial claims number identifies those filing for their first week of unemployment benefits. Continuing claims reflect people filing each week after their initial claim until the end of their standard benefits, which usually last 26 weeks.

The figures do not include those who have moved to state or federal extensions, nor people whose benefits have expired.

State-by-state data: A total of 13 states reported a decline in initial claims of more than 1,000 for the week ended Aug. 15, the most recent data available. Claims in California fell the most, by 6,286, which was attributed to fewer layoffs in the service industry.

Three states said that claims increased by more than 1,000. Florida reported the most new claims at 1,148, which the state said was due to more layoffs in the construction, trade, service, manufacturing and agriculture sectors.

Outlook: Wachovia analyst York said he doesn't expect nationwide initial claims will return to 600,000-levels, though a one-week spike is possible for the often-volatile reading.

York said he expects initial claims numbers to hold at similar levels over the next few weeks, noting that hiring has not picked up although the mass layoffs seen earlier this year seem to have eased.

"Hopefully we can hang on and make some slow progress, but in the short run, we probably won't make too much headway," York said. "In any case, it's too early for jobless claims to see major improvement." To top of page

Features
They're hiring!These Fortune 100 employers have at least 350 openings each. What are they looking for in a new hire? More
If the Fortune 500 were a country...It would be the world's second-biggest economy. See how big companies' sales stack up against GDP over the past decade. More
Sponsored By:
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More
Sponsors
Worry about the hackers you don't know 
Crime syndicates and government organizations pose a much greater cyber threat than renegade hacker groups like Anonymous. Play
GE CEO: Bringing jobs back to the U.S. 
Jeff Immelt says the U.S. is a cost competitive market for advanced manufacturing and that GE is bringing jobs back from Mexico. Play
Hamster wheel and wedgie-powered transit 
Red Bull Creation challenges hackers and engineers to invent new modes of transportation. Play

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.