Applications for U.S. unemployment insurance fell for a third week to a two-month low, suggesting healthy demand for labor even as economic growth moderates.
Initial unemployment claims decreased by 5,000 to 232,000 in the week ended Aug. 27, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 248,000 new applications.
Continuing claims for state benefits rose to 1.44 million in the week ended Aug. 20 from 1.41 million.
