(Washington, DC) — Fewer Americans are seeking first-time unemployment benefits.
Numbers out from the Department of Labor show 219-thousand requests received in the week ending September 14th. That’s down 12-thousand from the previous week’s revised total. It’s also lower than most analysts were expecting, with predictions coming in at right around 229 to 230 thousand.
Today’s report comes one day after word from the Federal Reserve that the central bank would be lowering interest rates for the first time in four years. The decision to reduce its key rate by a half-percentage point impacts day-to-day things like debt, savings, auto loans, mortgages and other types of borrowing.