Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits fell by 4,000 to 232,000 in the May 13 employment survey week, below the 240,000 level analysts expected, data released by the Labor Department Thursday showed.
The level of claims in the current week was down 11,000 from the 243,000 level in the April 15 employment survey week, a positive factor for May payrolls.
There were no special factors reported by the Labor Department, but data from Louisiana was again estimated for the week.
Seasonal adjustment factors had expected a decrease of 2.4%, or 5,198, in unadjusted claims in the week. Instead, unadjusted claims fell by 8,766 to 206,458, well below the 244,869 level in the comparable week a year ago.
The four-week moving average for initial claims fell by 2,750 to 240,750 in the May 13 survey week, down 2,000 from the level in the April 15 survey week.
If the number of claims does not change next week and there are no revisions to data from the past four weeks, the four-week average will decline by 6,250 as the 257,000 level in the April 22 week rolls out of the calculation.
The level of continuing claims fell by 22,000 to 1.898 million in the May 6 week, hitting its lowest point since a matching 1.898 million level in the November 5, 1998 week.
The four-week moving average for continuing claims fell by 20,000 to 1.946 million, the lowest point since a 1.921 million level in the January 19, 1974 week.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate held steady at 1.4% in the May 6 week, down from 1.6% a year earlier.
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.
