US initial jobless claims at 218,000

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Initial jobless claims in the US were at 218,000 for the week ending Sept. 21, down 4,000 from the previous week's revised figure, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.

The previous week's number was revised from 219,000 to 222,000.

The four-week moving average was 224,750, down 3,500 from the previous week's revised average.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending Sept. 14, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment number during the week ending Sept. 14 was 1.8 million, up 13,000 from the previous week's revised number.