In the week ending August 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance increased to 311,000 from 290,000 the week prior—the highest level since June. However, the four-week moving average (a less volatile gauge of underlying labor market conditions) was nearly 296,000, only 2,000 higher than last week's average and still nearly 15,000 below a month ago and well below the 319,000 mean so far this year.
