The number of Americans initially applying for unemployment aid last week decreased as the economy rebounded strongly in the second quarter.
In the week ending Aug. 23, the advance figure of seasonally adjusted initial claims for jobless benefits fell to 298,000, about 1,000 less than the revised level of the previous week, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average, which helps smooth out week-to-week volatility, edged down by 1,250 to 299,750 last week. The advance figure of seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Aug. 16 increased 25,000 from the previous week to 2,527,000.
On the same day the U.S. Commerce Department published the second estimation of the U.S. real gross domestic (GDP) in the second quarter this year, which surged 4.2 percent at an annual rate, faster than the first estimated 4 percent.
The Labor Department said earlier this month that the nonfarm payroll employment increased by 209,000 in July, the sixth consecutive month with job gains above 200,000. The unemployment rate was little changed at 6.2 percent, indicating that the job market was improving.