Reply #8: Initial Claims up to 345K, 4-week average down to 336K [View All]

[Maeve]

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38197.3547569444-816343027&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

U.S. initial jobless claims up 4,000 to 345,000 By Rex Nutting
WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - U.S. initial jobless claims rose by 4,000 to 345,000 in the week ending July 24, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average of new claims - which smoothes out distortions in the weekly figures caused by weather and other one-time factors -- fell by 1,000 to 336,250. It's the lowest in three weeks. The tiny increase in weekly claims was in line with expectations on Wall Street, where economists were looking for about 344,000 new filings. The number of Americans continuing to receive state unemployment benefits rose by 174,000 to 2.96 million in the week ending July 17, the highest in eight weeks. The insured unemployment rate rose to 2.3 percent from a cycle low of 2.2 percent.