Jobless claims rise 10,000 to 244,000

Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits rose by 10,000 to 244,000 in the July 22 week, following a small upward revision to the claims level in the previous week, data released by the Labor Department Thursday showed.

In other data released Thursday, the value of U.S. durable goods new orders surged 6.5% in June, well ahead of expectations for a 4.0% gain, as transportation orders jumped 19.0%. However, nontransportation orders posted a 0.2% gain, smaller than the 0.4% increase expected.

jobless-BL-309334273_1-7
Job seekers wait in line during the TechFair LA job fair in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017. Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits rose more than forecast last week amid holiday-related volatility, while remaining low by historical standards. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

The four-week moving average for initial claims, a better measure of the underlying trend of the data, held steady at 244,000 in the July 22 week.

If the number of headline claims does not change next week and there are no revisions to data from the past four weeks, the four-week average will fall by 1,500 as the 250,000 level in the July 1 week rolls out of the calculation.

Seasonal adjustment factors had expected a decrease of 18.4%, or 47,440 in unadjusted claims in the week. Instead, unadjusted claims fell by only 37,987 to 219,776. The current week's level was well below the 231,925 level in the comparable week a year ago.

The level of continuing claims fell by 13,000 to 1.964 million in the July 15 employment survey week, while the four-week moving average for continuing claims rose by 4,750 to 1.964 million. Continuing claims were at a level of 1.945 million in the June 17 employment survey week.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate held steady at 1.4% in the July 15 week for the 15th straight week. The current week's rate is down from 1.6% in the same week 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.

For durable goods, the modest rise in new orders excluding transportation reflected gains for primary metals, fabricated metals, machinery and the "all other durables" category that offset declines for computers and electronics and the electrical equipment category.

Nondefense aircraft orders rose 131.2% in June, more than offsetting a 0.6% decline in motor vehicles orders and a 0.3% decline in defense aircraft orders. Transportation orders excluding motor vehicles and aircraft rose 7.8%, according to an MNI calculation.

Nondefense capital goods new orders rose 21.0%, primarily due to a 228.7% spike in civilian aircraft orders, but were down 0.1% excluding civilian aircraft.

Durable goods shipments were flat in June, with nondefense capital goods shipments up 0.4% and up 0.2% excluding civilian aircraft shipments.

Durable goods inventories were up 0.4% in the month, while unfilled orders were up 1.3%.

Market News International is a real-time global news service for fixed-income and foreign exchange market professionals. See www.marketnews.com.
Economic indicators Jobless claims
MORE FROM BOND BUYER