US Jobless Claims Decline Last Week

   By Eric Morath and Harriet Torry 
 

WASHINGTON--The number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits decreased last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. Here are the report's takeaways:

--Initial jobless claims fell by 7,000 in the week ended Jan. 25 to a seasonally adjusted 216,000. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected 215,000 new jobless claims.

--Claims for the week ended Jan. 18 were revised up to 223,000 from an initial estimate of 211,000.

--The Jan. 25 week included Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday, giving potential claimants one fewer day to file. Claims data can be volatile during holiday weeks.

--Jobless claims are volatile week-to-week. The four-week moving average, which smoothes those variations, fell to 214,500 last week.

--Continuing claims, those filed by workers unemployed for longer than a week, were down by 44,000 to 1.703 million in the week ended Jan. 18. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.

The Labor Department report on jobless claims can be accessed at: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 30, 2020 08:45 ET (13:45 GMT)

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