Highlights
Initial jobless claims rose 4,000 in the Sept. 8 week to a slightly lower-than-expected level of 319,000. The four-week average, important to look at given the holiday shortened week, is at 324,000, down slightly from the prior week but still much higher than a recent low of 306,000 in late July, a time before a wave of mortgage-related layoffs hit the financial sector. Other than the holiday-shortened period, there were no special factors in the latest week. Continuing claims, down 6,000 at 2.585 million in the Sept. 8 week, are likewise on the high side.

Pressure on claims data have eased in the last couple of weeks but the latest results nevertheless confirm that the labor market has weakened. Financial markets showed no reaction to the data which do not appear to stand in the way of a Federal Reserve rate cut on Tuesday.