The Number of Americans Looking for Unemployment Aid Takes Another Dip

Let’s see what this week’s report looks like:

Applications for jobless benefits fell by 9,000 for the week ending August 31, bringing the total to 323,000, down from last week’s revised figure of 332,000, the Labor Department announced on Thursday.

This report again puts the number of Americans seeking unemployment aid in five-year low territory.

The four-week moving average, a “less volatile” figure, fell by 3,000, bringing the total to 328,500, down from the previous unrevised average of 331,500.

“The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending August 24, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate,” the report reads.

“The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 24 was 2,951,000, a decrease of 43,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,994,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,979,500, a decrease of 18,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,997,500,” it adds.

The states with the largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 24 were New York (+3,568), Georgia (+903), Connecticut (+604), Michigan (+546), and Nevada (+388).

Meanwhile, California (-2,544), Missouri (-1,713), Kansas (-915), Texas (-754), and New Jersey (-658) posted the biggest decreases in initial claims.

Markets haven’t exactly jumped on the news. But, then again, they have bigger things to focus on (war with Syria):

Here’s what’s most active in the markets this morning:

NOKIA CORP	NOK	5.33	0.21	4.10%
MICROSOFT CP	MSFT	31.20	0.69	2.15%
MICRON TECH INC	MU	14.75	0.74	5.30%
SPDR S&P 500 ETF	SPY	165.75	1.36	0.83%
BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION	BAC	14.32	0.08	0.56%
FORD MTR CO DEL	F	16.91	0.57	3.49%
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY PARTNERS INC	AEGY	0.00	0.00	0.00%
ISHARES MSCI EMERGING MARKETS ET	EEM	38.94	0.68	1.76%
ISHARES MSCI JAPAN ETF	EWJ	11.31	0.17	1.53%
FACEBOOK CL A	FB	41.78	0.09	0.22%

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Featured image Getty Images. This post has been updated.

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