US initial jobless claims down 33,000 last week, below expectations

The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell by 33,000 last week to 231,000, according to the US Labor Department data released on Thursday.

The figure came below the market forecasts of 241,000 and was down from the previous week's upwardly revised four-year high level of 264,000.

The four-week moving average was 240,000 -- a decline of 750 from the previous week's upwardly revised average of 240,750.

The data followed the previous weak job market figures. In the previous week, the initial jobless claims were up by 28,000 to 264,000, the highest level since October 2021.

In August, the US economy added just 22,000 jobs, well below market forecasts of 75,000.

Also, the June figure for the non-farm payroll employment was revised downwards by 27,000 to a loss of 13,000, marking the first loss since December 2020.

Meanwhile, annual revisions to the non-farm payroll data for the year before March 2025 revealed a decrease of 911,000 from the initial estimates, the largest downward revision in more than two decades.

Unemployment rose to 4.3% in August from 4.2% in July, matching market forecasts.