12:17 PM EDT, 09/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US declined to its lowest level since May, government data showed Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted number of initial claims dropped by 12,000 to 219,000 in the week ended Sept. 14, its lowest count since the week ended May 18, according to the Department of Labor. The consensus was for a 230,000 level in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg. The previous week's reading was revised up by 1,000 to 231,000.

The four-week moving average came in at 227,500, falling by 3,500 from the prior average that was revised upwards by 250. Unadjusted claims advanced 6,436 on a weekly basis to 184,845.

"We don't read much into the one week's decline because seasonal factors may have played a role," Oxford Economics Senior US Economist Nancy Vanden Houten said in remarks emailed to MT Newswires. "Continued jobless claims, which track initial claims with a lag, continue to drift lower and we expect that trend to persist in the weeks ahead."

For the week ended Sept. 7, seasonally adjusted continuing claims totaled 1.83 million, below the Bloomberg consensus for 1.85 million. Continuing claims slipped by 14,000 from the previous week's average, which was revised down by 7,000. The four-week moving average came in at 1.84 million, declining by 6,500 from the prior week's downwardly revised average, according to the DOL.

Nebraska saw the highest increase in initial claims for the week ended Sept. 7, at 628, followed by Wisconsin and Iowa. The largest decrease was in New York, where claims declined by 2,878, followed by California with 1,370 and Ohio with 1,086.

The Federal Reserve's monetary policy committee on Wednesday lowered its benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points to a range between 4.75% and 5%. "The committee has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%, and judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance," according to a statement from the Federal Open Market Committee.

"The (Fed) yesterday sent a strong signal that it will likely lower rates another (50 basis points) this year to preserve current labor market conditions and one week's claims data doesn't alter that," Vanden Houten said.