Jobless claims fall again but still high

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week for a second week in a row, the government said on Thursday, though they continued at levels that showed a weakening labor market.

The Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits dipped by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 432,000 in the week ended August 16 after falling a revised 12,000 a week earlier.

That was well below the 443,000 claims that economists polled by Reuters had expected for the latest week.

But a four-week moving average of new jobless claims, regarded as a better gauge of underlying labor trends because it irons out week-to-week volatility, climbed to 445,750 last week from 438,500 in prior week.

That was the highest for the moving average since December 2001, not long after September 11, 2001, terror attacks that sharply disrupted economic activity.

Stock futures trimmed losses after the claims data was issued, though stock prices continue to be weighed down by concerns over the health of the U.S. financial sector. The dollar also recouped some of its losses against the euro.

The number of people remaining on benefit rolls after drawing an initial week of aid declined by 17,000 to 3.36 million in the week ended August 9, the latest period for which the data is available.

That was below the 3.41 million that economists had forecast for continued claims but nonetheless marked the 17th straight week that continuing claims were over the 3 million mark.

Most economists consider that a reading above 400,000 for weekly new claims is a sign of deteriorating labor market conditions. New-claim filings have topped 400,000 for each of the past five weeks.

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville, Editing by Neil Stempleman)