Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits rose by 13,000 to 248,000 in the May 27 week, above the 238,000 level analysts expected, but still near the decades-low levels seen in recent weeks, data released by the Labor Department Thursday showed.
The four-week moving average for initial claims, a better measure of the underlying trend of the data, rose by 2,500 to 238,000 in the May 20 week, rebound from a decades-low level in the previous 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 rise by 12,000 as the 236,000 level in the May 6 week rolls out of the calculation.
There were no special factors reported by the Labor Department, but data from eight states were estimated for the week, suggesting there could be a larger than normal revision next week. Data from California, Kansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Virginia were estimated by the states themselves, while data for Hawaii, Kentucky, and North Dakota was estimated by the Labor Department. The Monday holiday shortened the reporting period, which could explain the large number of estimates.
Seasonal adjustment factors had expected an increase of 1.5%, or 3,053, in unadjusted claims in the week. Instead, unadjusted claims rose by 15,125 to 225,520, but was still well below the 246,740 level in the comparable week a year ago.
The level of continuing claims fell by 9,000 to 1.915 million in the May 20 week. The four-week moving average for continuing claims fell by 16,000 to 1.915 million in the May 20 week, the lowest level since 1.881 million in the January 12, 1974 week.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate held steady at 1.4% in the May 20 week for the seventh straight week. The current 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.
