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.
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." 
