WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The number of initial jobless claims in the United States decreased last week, according to a report released by the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday.
In the week ending Aug. 17, the number of people filing for U.S. unemployment benefits decreased by 12,000 to 209,000. Meanwhile, the previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 220,000 to 221,000.
The report also showed that the four-week moving average of initial claims, a method to iron out data volatility, increased by 500 to 214,500. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 to 214,000.
As an important leading indicator to reflect unemployment status in the United States, a lower reading in jobless claims indicates lower overall layoffs.
The reading of jobless claims is also a key indicator that the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) would carefully watched, as the reading could indicate the momentum of U.S. job market.
All eyes will be on U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday morning, when he speaks at the Fed's annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium in the state of Wyoming.
For the bigger picture of U.S. labor market, American employers added 164,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Aug. 2.
