WASHINGTON — Initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 to 213,000 in the August 4 week, below the 220,000 level expected.
As a result, the four-week moving average fell by 500 to 214,250, but could rise by 1,250 in the August 11 week as the decades-low 208,000 level in the July 14 week rolls out of the equation.
Continuing claims rose 29,000 to 1.755 million in the July 28 week, while the four-week moving average for continuing claims rose by 3,000 to 1.745 million.
![Initial jobless claims](https://arizent.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3a4ac9b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3560x2320+0+0/resize/740x482!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsource-media-brightspot.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2F87%2Faa%2F950baf2d43ac94947350b541e0ef%2Fbb-081018-claims.jpeg)