Bad News: The Latest Report on the Number of Americans Seeking Unemployment Aid Isn't Good

It’s time once again for our weekly jobless claims report:

Applications for jobless benefits increased by 13,000 for the week ending August 17, bringing the total to 336,000, up from last week’s revised figure of 332,750, the Labor Department announced on Thursday.

The four-week moving average, a “less volatile” figure, fell by 2.250, bringing the total to 330,500, down from the previous average of 332,750.

“The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending August 10, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate,” the report reads.

“The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 10 was 2,999,000, an increase of 29,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,970,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,985,750, a decrease of 1,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,986,750,” it adds.

The states with the largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 10 were South Carolina (+907), New York (+762), Oregon (+685), Mississippi (+419), and Indiana (+400).

Meanwhile, California (-4,105), Ohio (-1,554), Texas (-894), Florida (-881), and Georgia (-712) posted the biggest decreases in initial claims.

Markets, which are still reeling from Wednesday's Fed minutes, are not exactly thrilled with the latest report on unemployment aid: