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The number of Americans filing jobless claims fell sharply last week, suggesting that the labor market was holding up despite the slowdown in the manufacturing sector and that the economy was on the road to recession.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell from 12,000 to 209,000 seasonally adjusted for the week ended Aug. 17, the Department of Labor said Thursday. Data from the previous week have been revised to indicate 1,000 more requests received compared to previous reports.
The decline was stronger than expected. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted a drop in claims to 216,000 last week. The Ministry of Labor has indicated that data for Kentucky for last week was estimated.
The four-week moving average of initial claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, as it eases volatility from week to week, edged up from 500 to 214,500 last week.
Last week's claims data fell during the same week. The Labor Department conducted surveys to estimate national employment in the month of August.
The four-week average of new claims for unemployment benefits was lower than the corresponding week in July, a positive sign for employment during the month.
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