Initial Jobless Claims Down Slightly to 400,000

In the week ending July 30, 400,000 Americans filed initial jobless claims, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 401,000. The four-week moving average, a less volatile number that flattens out week-to-week fluctuations in the data, was 407,750, a decrease of 6,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 414,500. The benchmark for sustainable job growth is considered to be 375,000. The number of Americans filing for continuing unemployment claims during the week ending July 23 was 3,730,000, an increase of 10,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,720,000.The four-week moving average was 3,729.750, an increase of 4,500 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,725,250. States reported 3,184,621 claiming emergency unemployment benefits in the week ended July 16 (the most recent data available), an increase of 12,193 from the previous week. The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs ending July 9 was 7,570,439, a decrease of 75,192 from the previous week. The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending July 23 were in Maine, New Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The largest decreases were in California, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, and South Carolina.