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US Jobless Claims Fall for a Second Week to Lowest Since July
Initial applications for US unemployment benefits fell for a second week to the lowest level since early July, despite a recent pullback in hiring. Initial claims decreased by 7,000 to 227,000 in the week ended Aug. 10, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 235,000 applications. Economists and investors are on the watch for signs that the labor market may be weakening faster than anticipated after the July employment report showed the jobless rate rose for a fourth month and hiring slowed. First-time applications for unemployment ... (full story)