Number of Americans Seeking Unemployment Aid Ticks Up Again

Weekly jobless claims are in -- here's how we did:

Applications for jobless benefits increased by 5,000 for the week ending August 3, bringing the total to 333,000, up from last week’s revised figure of 328,000, the Labor Department announced on Thursday.

And the Associated Press couldn’t be happier:

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/AP/status/365451431307776000"]

However, what the AP should have celebrated is the four-week moving average, a “less volatile” figure, which fell by 6,250, bringing the total to 335,500 (down from the previous average of 341,750).

“The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending July 27, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate,” the report reads.

“The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending July 27 was 3,018,000, an increase of 67,000 from the preceding week's unrevised level of 2,951,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,023,750, a decrease of 2,250 from the preceding week's unrevised average of 3,026,000,” it adds.

The states with the largest increases in initial claims for the week ending July 27 were Idaho (+264), Wisconsin (+179), South Dakota (+115), Arkansas (+90), and Hawaii (+61).

Meanwhile, California (-21,479), Michigan (-8,647), Missouri (-3,208), Georgia (-2,951), and Texas (-2,782) posted the biggest decreases in initial claims.

Markets have seen better starts:

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Featured image Getty Images. This post has been updated.

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