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Jobless claims average edges up, total claims fall by 6,000

September 10, 2015

The US four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance edged up by 500 last week to a total of 275,750 from the previous week’s downwardly revised average, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the US Department of Labor.

The four-week moving average decreases the volatility of the weekly numbers. Total initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ended Sept. 5 fell by 6,000 to a total of 275,000 from the previous week’s downwardly revised level.

No special factors affected this week’s initial claims.

Bloomberg reports claims matched the median forecast in its survey of 45 economists. For the last six months first-time claims have been below the 300,000 level that economists associate with a healthy labor market as steady demand persuades employers to retain workers, according to Bloomberg.

“We’re making progress,” Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Penn., told Bloomberg. “The job market is in good shape. Sub-300,000 initial claims is historically rare but the norm this year.”