Total initial jobless claims were down -33k to 231k (vs 240k expected) last week. The 4-week average remained around 240k.

• Not seasonally adjusted claims fell -10.4k to 194.5k, about 8k ahead of the 186.8k seen a year ago.
• Continued claims fell -7k to 1.920 million (vs 1.950 million expected), with the insured unemployment rate holding at 1.3%.
• The non-seasonally adjusted continued claims total dropped -50.5k to 1.752 million, but was about the 1.671 million total from a year ago.
• The surge in jobless claims in the previous week was caused by 15.3k claims posted in Texas due to mass layoffs across sectors, and a smaller 3k claims total in Michigan due to layoffs in manufacturing.