US: Weekly Initial Jobless Claims decline to 228K

Initial applications for unemployment insurance reached 228,000 in the week ending July 15, according to the US Department of Labor’s (DOL) release of weekly data on Thursday. Since early May, this reading is the lowest. The print came in below/above market forecasts of 242,000 and follows the prior week’s 237,000 (unrevised) reading. According to additional information, “the 4-week moving average was 237,500, a decrease of 9,250 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 246,750.”

In the week ending July 8, continuing claims increased by 33,000 to 1.754 million, above market expectations of 1.728 million by a significant margin. The level is the highest in four weeks. The four-week moving average “was 1,731,500, down 1,750 from the revised average for the previous week.”