Washington, DC, September 7, 2006--The number of new filings for state unemployment benefits fell by 9,000 to 310,000 in the week ending Sept. 2, according to the Labor Department.
It's the lowest figure for initial jobless claims in six weeks, reflecting a modest level of layoffs.
The four-week average of initial claims, which smoothes out weekly noise and distortions in the data, fell by 3,000 to 315,250.
The number of continuing jobless claims rose by 15,000 to 2.49 million in the week ending Aug. 26, bringing the four-week average of continuing claims to a six-month high of 2.49 million.
