The Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits dipped by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 432,000 in the week ended Aug. 16 after falling a revised 12,000 a week earlier.
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But a four-week moving average of new jobless claims, regarded as a better gauge of underlying labor trends because it irons out week-to-week volatility, climbed to 445,750 last week from 438,500 in prior week.
That was the highest for the moving average since December 2001, not long after Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that sharply disrupted economic activity.
Heckuva job, Bushie.