In the week ending September 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 252,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 260,000. The 4-week moving average was 258,500, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 260,750. There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims. This marks 81 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1970. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.5 percent for the week ending September 10, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week's ... (full story)