Initial Jobless Claims Gain 23,000 to 302,000 in Week Ended July 26

WASHINGTON — Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits rebounded by 23,000 to 302,000 in the July 26 week, slightly below expectations, but following a rare downward revision to the level in the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Expectations for this week's report was for a claims level of 305,000, an increase of 21,000 from the previously reported 284,000 level in July 19 week. The initial claims level in that week was revised down to 279,000, which is the lowest level since 276,000 in May 2000.

The initial claims seasonally adjusted 4-week moving average fell by 3,500 to 297,250 in the July 26 week, a fourth straight decline to the lowest level since the April 15, 2006 week. Even with the volatility usually seen in July, the average remains on a clearly downward track.

The Labor Department said there was "nothing unusual" in the July 26 week data, and there were no states estimated in the most recent week.

Seasonal adjustment factors had expected a 17.4%, or 49,885, decline in unadjusted claims in the July 26 week, finishing off the usual auto retooling sector impact. Instead, unadjusted claims fell only 10.4%, or 29,839, to 257,210 after the larger-than-expected drop in the previous week. That level is well below the 281,692 level reported in the comparable week a year ago.

The state data released for the July 19 week indicated unadjusted initial claims increased in only 4 states and declined in 49 states, with none unchanged. The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands are included in this data.

California led the states with the largest decrease, posted an 18,663 decline in claims due to fewer layoffs in the educational services, transportation, warehousing, health care, and social assistance industries.

The level of continuing claims came in at 2.539 million after seasonal adjustment in the July 19 week, a rise of 31,000 after increases in the previous three weeks.

The level of unadjusted continuing claims fell by 42,228 to 2.521 million in the July 19 week and was still down considerably from the 2.921 million level in the comparable week a year ago.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate held steady at 1.9% in the July 19 week, down from 2.3% in the comparable week a year ago.

The unemployment rate among the insured labor force is well below that reported monthly by the Labor Department because claims are approved for the most part only for job losers, not the job leavers and labor force reentrants included in the monthly report.

The Labor Department reported that a total of 2,618,115 persons claimed unemployment benefits in the July 12 week, an increase of 6,244 from the previous week. The current week's level is still well below the 4,688,629 persons in the comparable week a year ago. These data are not seasonally adjusted, and include regular state claims, federal employee claims, new veterans claims, the EUC and extended benefits programs, state additional benefits, and STC/Workshare claims.

Market News International is a real-time global news service for fixed-income and foreign exchange market professionals. See www.marketnews.com.

Market News International is a real-time global news service for fixed-income and foreign exchange market professionals. See www.marketnews.com.
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