New Unemployment Claims Drop To Four-Week Low

The Labor Department released a rare piece of good economic news, today: Its weekly unemployment claims report shows that this past week had saw lowest number of claims in a month.

For the week ending Aug. 6, the number of unemployment claims dropped by 7,000 to 395,000, the lowest number since the week that ended April 2.

Reuters reports:

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims steady at 400,000. The prior week's figure was revised up to 402,000 from the previously reported 400,000.

...

The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, slipped 3,250 to 405,000. Economists say both initial claims and the four-week average need to drop close to 350,000 to signal a sustainable improvement in the labor market.

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