Another 348,000 Workers Filed For Unemployment Last Week

 

The Labor Department released its weekly unemployment statistics on Thursday. It showed that an additional 348,000 workers filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending on August 14th. That's the lowest number since the pandemic kicked in, but is still significantly larger than would be seen in a healthy economy.

Here is the official statement from the Labor Department:

In the week ending August 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 348,000, a decrease of 29,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 375,000 to 377,000. The 4-week moving average was 377,750, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020 when it was 225,500. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 396,250 to 396,750.