WASHINGTON — Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 5,000 to 381,000 in the June 14 week, backing off a little from the previous week, the Labor Department reported yesterday.
A survey week comparison shows initial claims were up 13,000 from the May 17 level of 368,000.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims in the latest week to decline to 375,000. Initial claims jumped a revised 27,000 in last week’s report with a rebound from the Memorial Day holiday, when claims offices in all the states were not open for a full five-day week.
Seasonal adjustments had expected a decline in the latest week’s unadjusted claims of 5.9% or 22,000, but unadjusted claims actually dropped 7.0% or 26,208.
The four-week moving average for initial claims was 375,250, up 3,250 in the June 14 week.
Continuing claims for the June 7 week were down 76,000 to 3,060,000.
The four-week average for continuing claims was down 2,000 to 3,096,500.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate edged down to 2.3% for the June 7 week, a decrease of 0.1 point from the previous week’s unrevised rate of 2.4%. A year ago the rate was 1.9%.
— Market News International
