US initial jobless claims come in ahead of expectations at 206,000

3rd Sep 2026 12:36

(Sharecast News) - Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated pace in the week ended 29 August, according to the Labor Department, extending recent resilience in the labour market despite an unexpected contraction in payrolls.

Initial jobless claims rose by 2,000 to 206,000, ahead of expectations for a print of 205,000 and in keeping with a recent run of low claim counts since hitting an almost 60-year low of 189,000 in mid July.

Continuing claims rose by 8,000 week-on-weel to 1.77m in the earlier period, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, came in at 207,250, an increase of 1,500 from the prior week.

The Labor Department also said the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ended 22 August, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com