Jobless Claims Fall Due to Computer System Work

Work on computer systems at state employment agencies caused reported initial jobless claims to fall by 31,000 last week, the Labor Department said Sept. 12.

Two states updated their reporting systems, which temporarily caused their jobless application numbers to be reported incorrectly, Bloomberg News said, citing information from Labor.

Claims for the week ended Sept. 7 fell to 292,000, the lowest level since April 2006, from 323,000 the prior week.

The number of claims was below analysts’ median forecast of 330,000 new claims, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 321,250, the lowest since October 2007, from 328,750, the previous week.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Aug. 31 declined by 73,000 to 2.87 million.