The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell by 6,000 to 206,000 in the second week of August, coming in below market expectations of 210,000. This result extends the run of historically low initial claims that has persisted since mid-July, when filings touched a near 60‑year low of 189,000.
By contrast, continuing claims — which measure the number of people remaining on unemployment benefits and serve as an indicator of ongoing joblessness — rose by 18,000 to 1,799,000 in the preceding week. Even so, the figures overall underscore the continued resilience of the US labor market, despite the recent, unexpected decline in payrolls reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The data are consistent with comments from some Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members that the US economy is operating at or near full employment.
Initial claims filed by federal employees — closely watched amid the administration’s efforts to reduce the size of the public workforce — increased by 48 to 449.
