U.S. initial jobless claims fall slightly

The number of Americans initially applying for unemployment aid fell slightly last week, as the overall job market kept expanding, the Labor Department said Thursday.

In the week ended Aug. 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for jobless benefits fell to 266,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the revised level of the previous week.

The data is in line with market expectation, while the four-week moving average, which helps smooth out week-to-week volatility, increased by 3,000 from the previous week's revised average to 262,750.

This marks 75 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, a benchmark for real job growth or loss in the economy, the longest streak since 1970, said the Labor Department.

Meanwhile, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ended July 30 increased 14,000 from the previous week to 2,155,000.

The freshly released statistics were in line with other data released recently showing an improving job market. U.S. nonfarm payroll employment increased by 255,000 in July, and the unemployment rate remained low at 4.9 percent, said the department last week. Endi