US weekly jobless claims fall to 197,000, below expectations

The number of Americans filing first-time applications for unemployment benefits fell to 197,000 last week, below market expectations of 200,000, according to Labor Department figures released Thursday.

Seasonally adjusted initial claims declined by 1,000 in the week ending Sept. 26. The previous week’s figure was revised up by 1,000 to 198,000.

The four-week moving average, which smooths out weekly fluctuations, fell by 2,500 to 200,000. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 to 202,500.

Continuing claims, which measure the number of people receiving benefits after an initial application, fell by 11,000 to 1.701 million in the week ending Sept. 19.

The previous week’s continuing claims figure was revised down by 7,000 to 1.712 million.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims decreased by 18,500 to 1,723,750, while the seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remained unchanged at 1.1%.

In August, the US economy added 162,000 nonfarm jobs, nearly triple the market expectation of 56,000, according to an earlier Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1% in August, in line with market expectations.