US: Weekly initial claims was 240,000, a decrease of 5,000 from previous week

"In the week ending July 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 240,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level," the US Department of Labor announced on Thursday.

Key takeaways:

• The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 244,000 to 245,000
• The 4-week moving average was 241,750, a decrease of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average
• The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.4 percent for the week ending July 22, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate
• The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending July 22 was 1,968,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level