Applications for U.S. unemployment insurance fell for the first time in three weeks, suggesting demand for labor remains healthy.
Initial unemployment claims decreased by 2,000 to 250,000 in the week ended Aug. 13, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The date is particularly scrutinized because it corresponds with the reference period for the government’s August employment report, which will be released early next month.
The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 264,000 applications.