Help-Wanted Index Dipped 1 Point; Jobless Claims Dropped 6,000
In the last three months, help-wanted advertising declined in eight of the nine U.S. regions. Steepest declines occurred in the West North Central (-17.5%), Middle Atlantic (-17.3%), Mountain (-9.2%) and West South Central (-9.2%) regions.
Jobless Claims:
In the week ending Sept. 23, jobless initial claims decreased 6,000 to 316,000, from the previous week's revised figure of 322,000, according to the Labor Dept.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9 percent for the week ending Sept. 16, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 1.9 percent.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Sept. 16 was 2,444,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,452,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,466,750, a decrease of 8,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,475,000.
