US weekly jobless figures higher than expected in most recent week

The US Department of Labor on Thursday reported that a higher number of Americans filed for new unemployment benefits last week.

Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims stood at 226,000 in the week that ended August 2, up by 7,000 from an upwardly revised 219,000. The market consensus had expected an increase to 221,000.

The four-week moving average of initial claims, which smooths weekly volatility, decreased by 500 to 220,750.

The total number of people receiving unemployment benefits increased. Seasonally adjusted insured unemployment, or continuing claims, rose by 38,000 to 1.974 million in the week ended July 26, the highest number since November 2021. This also reflected an increase from 1.936 million a week prior, which was revised down from 1.946 million. The insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.3%.

On an unadjusted basis, initial claims edged up 0.6% from the previous week to 194,988 in the week that ended August 2.