Initial claims for the week ending Sept. 14 increased by 2,000 to 208,000 (Briefing.com consensus 213,000) while continuing claims for the week ending Sept. 7 decreased by 13,000 to 1.661 million.

The four-week moving average for initial claims decreased by 750 to 212,250.

The four-week moving average for continuing claims decreased by 3,750 to 1,677,500.

Initial claims have held below 300,000 for 237 straight weeks.

The key takeaway from this report is that it covers the period in which the survey for the September employment report was conducted, so the low level of initial claims will drive expectations for another solid increase in nonfarm payrolls.