The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits decreased by 12,000 in the week ended Sept. 3 to 3.73 million. The continuing claims figure does not include the number of Americans receiving extended benefits under federal programs.
Those who've used up their traditional benefits and are now collecting emergency and extended payments rose by about 10,000 to 3.61 million in the week ended Aug. 27.
The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits held at 3 percent in the week ended Sept. 3, today's report showed.
Thirty-nine states and territories reported an increase in claims, while 14 reported a decline. These data are reported with a one-week lag.
Initial jobless claims reflect weekly firings and tend to fall as job growth -- measured by the monthly non-farm payrolls report -- accelerates.
Total payrolls were unchanged last month, the weakest reading since September 2010, and the unemployment rate held at 9.1 percent, the Labor Department said Sept. 2.
Obama announced his jobs plan before a joint session of Congress on Sept. 8, calling for an extension of a payroll-tax break for Americans and unemployment assistance. He also pushed for a payroll tax break for small businesses, an increase in infrastructure spending and more aid for cash-strapped state governments.
Bank of America, the biggest U.S. lender, will eliminate 30,000 jobs in the next few years as part of Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan's plan to bolster profit and the firm's stock. The reductions equal about 10 percent of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company.
"We don't have to be the biggest company out there, we have to be the best," Moynihan said Sept. 12 at a New York investor conference. "We can get out of things we don't need to do, make the company leaner, more straightforward, more driven."