On an unadjusted basis, actual claims under state programs totaled 230,493, up 3,844 from the prior week. In the comparable week a year ago, initial claims totaled 274,780.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending August 15 were in Puerto Rico (3.7%), New Jersey (3.0%), Connecticut (2.7%), Pennsylvania (2.6%), Alaska (2.3%), California (2.3%), Rhode Island (2.3%), Nevada (2.2%), the Virgin Islands (2.2%) and Massachusetts (2.1%).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 22 were in Pennsylvania (+1,875), New York (+832), Ohio (+461), Tennessee (+354) and Massachusetts (+311), while the largest decreases were in Kansas (-1,473), California (-1,302), Michigan (-1,103), Missouri (-421) and Kentucky (-403).
The average of new claims for the past four weeks rose week-over-week from 272,250 to 275,500, and continuing claims dropped by 250, to 2,264,250.
Benefit claims have remained below 300,000 for the past 26 weeks, the longest streak in more than 40 years, and the four-week moving average remained near a 15-year low.
Friday we are set to receive the Bureau of Labor Statistics report on unemployment in August. A forecast from Bloomberg calls for a net increase of 223,000 jobs and the unemployment rate is expected to tick down to 5.2%.
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