Initial U.S. unemployment claims fall to lowest level since February

Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Weekly first time unemployment insurance claims fell to the lowest seasonally-adjusted weekly total since February, but still remained stubbornly above the 200,000 mark, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

Workers filing for initial unemployment benefits, one indicator that judges the stability of the U.S. workforce and the economy, reached 216,000 for the week ending Sept. 2, a drop of 13,000 from the week before. That figure was revised up 1,000 to 229,000.

The 216,000 total marked the lowest one-week total for people filing for benefits since Feb. 11 when seasonally-adjusted 216,000 made their first-time filings. The initial weekly filings had been as high as 265,000 for the week ending June 17. The total has not been under 200,000 since January.

The four-week moving average for first-time filers fell 8,500 to the new average of 229,250, the Labor Department said. The previous week's total was revised up slightly to 236,750. The weekly total marked the fourth straight week the initial weekly filings dropped.

The Labor Department said the overall number of people filing for unemployment insurance for the week ending Aug. 26 was 1,679,000, a decrease of 40,000 from the week before. The four-week moving average over the same time period was 1,701,500, tumbling 1,250 from the previous week's revised average.