The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell by 38,000 for the week ended August 1, sparking hopes that the labour market could be stabilising.
According to the US Labour Department, the initial claims for jobless benefits stood at 5,50,000 for the week ended August 1, a decline of 38,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 5,88,000.
"The four-week moving average was 5,55,250, a decrease of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average of 5,60,000," the Labor Department said in a statement today.
The encouraging data comes a day after a report showed that private sector companies in the country cut 3,71,000 jobs last month, the lowest in more than nine months.
The insured unemployment rate was 4.7 per cent for the week ended July 25.
Meanwhile, the advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for the week ended July 25 climbed to 6,310,000 from the previous week's level of 6,241,000.
Yesterday, the ADP National Employment Report said that non-farm private employment decreased 371,000 in July.
Going by the report, the decline in employment in June was the smallest since October of 2008 and is also an improvement in comparison with the first and second quarters of 2009.
