By Ruth Mantell
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Signaling a slight slowdown in the pace of layoffs, the number of people who applied for new U.S. unemployment-insurance benefits declined by 6,000 to 331,000 in the week that ended Aug. 24, according to government data released Thursday. Meanwhile, the four-week moving average of initial claims for regular state unemployment-insurance benefits ticked up 750 to 331,250, but remained close to the lowest level since late 2007, near the start of the Great Recession, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. While initial claims levels are relatively low, hiring is slower than economists would like. Continuing claims, which reflect the number of people already receiving benefits, fell 14,000 to 2.99 million in the week that ended Aug. 17. The four-week average of continuing claims, which levels out some weekly volatility, increased 9,500 to 3 million. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected an initial claims level of 330,000 in the week that ended Aug. 24, compared with an original estimate for the prior week of 336,000. On Thursday the government tweaked the prior week's claims level to 337,000.
