The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 271,000 for the week ended 22 August, the Labor Department said.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, rose 1,000 to 272,500 last week.
Continuing claims rose 13,000 to 2.27 million in the week ended 15 August.