By Kevin Kastner and Ian McKendry

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment
benefits fell by 6,000 to 472,000 in the August 28 week after seasonal
adjustment, according to data released by the U.S. Labor Department
Thursday.

The Labor Department analyst said there were no states estimated in
the current week and nothing unusual in the state-level data. Seasonal
adjustment factors had expected a decline of 0.4% for unadjusted claims,
which would have been about 1,400. Instead, unadjusted claims fell about
1.7%, or 6,400, to 378,511. This is well below the 456,682 level in the
comparable week a year earlier.

Economists surveyed by Market News International had expected
initial claims to fall to 470,000 in the current week from the
originally reported 473,000 in the August 21 week. The expectations
ranged from 465,000 to 484,000. The number of initial claims in the
August 21 week was revised up to 478,000.

The initial claims seasonally adjusted 4-week average fell 2,500 to
485,500 in the August 28 week. If the level of initial claims remains
near its current level for the next few weeks, the four-week moving
average will continue to decline.

In the August 21 week, continuing claims fell by 23,000 to 4.456
million. The unadjusted level was down 115,895 to 4.104 million, well
below the 5.622 million level in the comparable week a year ago.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate held steady at
3.5% in the August 21 week. This is still below the 4.6% rate in the
comparable week a year ago.

The unemployment rate among the insured labor force is well below
that reported monthly by the Labor Department because claims are
approved for the most part only for job losers, not the job leavers and
labor force reentrants included in the monthly report.

The Labor Department said that the level of unadjusted Emergency
Unemployment Compensation benefits claims fell by 281,676 in the August
14 week, bringing that category to 4,546,010. Extended benefits claims
fell by 38,097 to 894,659 not seasonally adjusted.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]