WASHINGTON — Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment fell 22,000 to 356,000 in the Feb. 2 week after spiking in the previous week, the Labor Department reported yesterday.
Analysts expected initial jobless claims to fell 35,000 to 340,000 in the week. The previous week’s initial claims level was revised up to 378,000 from the previously reported 375,000 level.
A Labor Department analyst said that there were no special factors and that all states had reported their data in the current week.
Seasonals had expected initial unadjusted claims to rise by 8.8% after the previous week’s decline, but unadjusted claims actually rose only 2.6%, or 9,563, in the Feb. 2 week to a level of 379,507. In the previous week, unadjusted claims had fallen less than expected. There were 339,018 unadjusted claims in the comparable week a year ago.
The four-week moving average in the Feb. 2 week was 335,000, a rise of 8,500 from the previous week’s level.
The level of continuing claims rose 75,000 to 2.785 million in the Jan. 26 week, the highest level since 2.792 million in the Oct. 15, 2005 week.
— Market News International
