US Initial Jobless Claims Edged Down To 229,000 Last Week

Applications for US unemployment benefits edged down last week, suggesting employers are holding onto current workers amid economic uncertainty.

Initial claims decreased by 5,000 to 229,000 in the week ended Aug. 23. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 230,000 applications.

Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, also fell, to 1.95 million in the previous week, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. That is the week when the surveys for the government’s monthly jobs report were conducted. 

Businesses so far have been reluctant to cut staff on a large scale, but they have pulled back on hiring. At the same time, the elevated number of recurring applications indicates that it is taking longer for out-of-work people to find a job.

Signs of cooling in the job market have become a focal point for Federal Reserve officials. Investors expect the central bank to reduce interest rates at its policy meeting next month after Fed Chair Jerome Powell in a speech at the Fed’s annual Jackson Hole conference last week said that “downside risks to employment are rising” and opened the door to a cut.

The four-week moving average of new applications, a metric that helps smooth out volatility, rose to 228,500. 

Before adjusting for seasonal factors, initial claims declined last week. Iowa saw the largest decrease.