Sept. 26 (UPI) — The number of people filing for weekly unemployment benefits for the first time dipped to a seasonally adjusted 218,000, its lowest number since May as the country’s workforce numbers appear to hold steady. The number is 4,000 less than the revised initial claims made the week of 222,000. That number was revised upward by 3,000, according to the Labor Department.
The number of people filing for unemployment benefits is one of the indicators watched by the Federal Reserve Board when setting monetary policy to get a snapshot of workforce stability.
The last time initial unemployment insurance filings dropped below 220,000 was the week ending May 28 when 216,000 made their first unemployment benefit claims.
The four-week moving average for those making first-time weekly benefit applications was 224,750, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week’s average.
The overall number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the week ending Sept. 14 was 1.834 million, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week. The previous week’s total, however, was revised down by 8,000.
The four-week moving average of the overall total of people filing for jobless benefits was 1,835,750, a decrease of 6,500 from the previous week’s revised total, which now stands at 1,842,250.