Jobless claims ease for 3rd week

Number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell for the third week straight, as predicted, with 10,000 fewer initial filings reported.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of out-of-work Americans who signed up for jobless benefits fell for the third week in a row, matching economists' expectations.

The Department of Labor reported Thursday that initial filings for state jobless benefits decreased by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 425,000 in the week ended Aug. 23. That's the fewest number of filings reported since the week ended July 19.

The four-week seasonally adjusted moving average of new jobless claims fell 6,000 to 440,250 in the past week. Last year at this time, the figure was 324,750. The average is used to smooth out weekly fluctuations.

The Labor Department said that no special factors affected this week's data, meaning that the rise in the number of claims that were filed after legislation extended unemployment benefits has essentially leveled off.