Weekly Jobless Claims Decrease More Than Projected

12:16 PM EDT, 08/14/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US declined more than expected, government data showed Thursday, suggesting that the labor market remained strong.

The seasonally adjusted number of initial claims moved down by 3,000 to 224,000 for the week ended Aug. 9, according to the Department of Labor. The consensus was for a smaller decrease to a level of 225,000 in a Bloomberg poll. Last week's reading was revised up by 1,000 to 227,000.

The four-week moving average totaled 221,750, rising by 750 from the prior week's upwardly revised average. Unadjusted claims gained by 3,694 on a weekly basis to 199,186.

"Last week's report showed some signs that more weakness might be creeping into the labor market data, but we do not see much evidence of follow through this week," Jefferies Chief US Economist Thomas Simons said in a client note. "Claims continue their sideways drift, as the labor market remains roughly balanced."

Seasonally adjusted continuing claims came in at 1.95 million for the week ended Aug. 2, below Wall Street's views for a 1.97 million reading. Continuing claims fell by 15,000 from the previous week's level, which was revised down by 6,000. The four-week moving average rose by 500 to 1.95 million from the prior week's downwardly revised average, according to the DOL.

Late last month, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that labor market conditions remained solid.

"There is nothing in the latest week's jobless claims data to alter (the Fed's) view of the labor market or our call that the Fed will hold off on cutting rates until December," Oxford Economics Lead Economist Nancy Vanden Houten said in remarks emailed to MT Newswires. "Initial jobless claims are consistent with a low pace of layoffs. Continued claims are elevated but trending lower and we expect that to continue."

At the beginning of August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the US economy added fewer jobs than projected in July, while gains in the previous two months were revised sharply lower.

Earlier in the week, government data showed that consumer inflation slowed down in July on a sequential basis, while the annual core rate jumped above 3%. The report lifted expectations that the Fed will lower interest rates at its next meeting in September. Producer prices rose at the fastest pace in about three years last month, according to data released on Thursday.

The probability of a quarter-percentage-point rate cut in September fell to 91% on Thursday from 94% on Wednesday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

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