A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 23rd.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dipped to 229,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level of 234,000.
Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 228,500, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average of 226,000.
The Labor Department also said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, fell by 7,000 to 1.954 million in the week ended August 16th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims still rose to 1,956,250, an increase of 4,500 from the previous week's revised average of 1,951,750.