Initial claims for unemployment benefits nationwide fell to the lowest level since March nationwide last week, but there were still 1.186 million new claims.
That is down almost 250,000 from the number of new claims the previous week.
Continuing claims nationwide also fell to 16.1 million.
New claims for unemployment benefits in the District, Maryland and Virginia all fell by a combined 20,874. The biggest drop in new claims was in Virginia.
On an adjusted basis, excluding seasonal factors, initial claims for unemployment benefits nationwide totaled 984,192, falling below one million for the first time since late March.
Initial jobless claims for D.C., Maryland and Virginia, on an unadjusted basis:
District of Columbia:
Week ending Aug. 3: 2,090
Week ending July 25: 2,712
Maryland:
Week ending Aug. 3: 9,762
Week ending July 25: 13,038
Virginia:
Week ending Aug. 3: 25,990
Week ending July 25: 42,966
The Department of Labor posts weekly initial unemployment claims by state online.
