12:12 PM EDT, 08/08/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US declined to the lowest level in four weeks, the Department of Labor said Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted number of initial claims fell 17,000 to 233,000 in the week ended Aug. 3, the lowest point since July 6, government data showed. The consensus was for 240,000 in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg. The previous week's reading was revised up by 1,000 to 250,000.

The four-week moving average came in at 240,750, up 2,500 from the prior average that was revised higher by 250. Unadjusted claims slid 13,589 on a weekly basis to 203,054.

The report "offers a welcome positive indication of labor market conditions, softening concerns of more precipitous weakness in the aftermath of a somewhat disappointing jobs report," Stifel Chief Economist Lindsey Piegza said in a note.

July's nonfarm payrolls data released Friday showed the US economy added fewer jobs than expected while the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose. That report stoked recession fears, with markets pricing in a more aggressive 50-basis-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September.

Markets, however, were split over the size of a rate reduction on Thursday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

For the week ended July 27, seasonally adjusted continuing claims totaled 1.88 million, its highest reading since Nov. 27, 2021, ahead of the Bloomberg consensus for 1.87 million. Continuing claims rose 6,000 from the previous week's level that was revised down by 8,000. The four-week moving average advanced to its highest level since Nov. 27, 2021, at 1.86 million, gaining 7,000 from the previous week's downwardly revised average, according to the Department of Labor.

Michigan saw the highest increase in initial claims for the week ended July 27 at 4,027, followed by Missouri and Massachusetts. The largest decrease was in Texas, where claims declined by 6,607, followed by New York and Ohio.