Seasonally adjusted initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell to 213,000 in the week ended Aug. 4 from the previous week's revised level of 219,000, data from the U.S. Department of Labor showed.

Econoday had predicted initial jobless claims would tick up to 220,000.

The four-week moving average came in at 214,250, down 500 from the previous week's revised average of 214,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate in the week that ended July 28 was 1.2%, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate. Insured unemployment during the week rose to 1,755,000 from the previous week's revised level of 1,726,000.