Jobless claims slip, remain higher-than-expected in April 7 week

WASHINGTON — Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits fell by 9,000 to 233,000 in the April 7 week, slightly ahead of the 230,000 level expected by analysts in an MNI survey, data released by the Labor Department Thursday showed.

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The four-week moving average for initial claims, which tends to be a better measure of the underlying trend of the data, rose by 1,750 to 230,000 in the April 7 week, a fourth straight increase. Even so, the level of the four-week average remains very low.

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 1,500 as the 227,000 level in the March 17 week rolls out of the calculation.

Seasonal adjustment factors had expected an increase of 19.6%, or 39,473, in unadjusted claims in the post-holiday week. Instead, unadjusted claims rose by 30,392 (15.1%) to 231,388. The current week's level remains below the 239,823 level in the comparable week a year ago.

The only states where claims were estimated were Colorado and Maine. However, the claims taking procedures in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico have still not returned to normal.

The level of continuing claims rose by 53,000 to 1.871 million in the March 31 week after falling by 58,000 in the previous week, continuing its up and down trend. Before seasonal adjustment, continuing claims fell by 8,544 to 1.995 million, well below the 2.137 million level seen in the comparable week last year.

The four-week average for continuing claims, a more reliable measure when the continuing claims are rapidly moving week-to-week, fell by 1,500 to 1.850 million, the lowest point since the January 5, 1974 week, when it was 1.839 million.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remained at 1.3% in the March 31 week. The current week's rate is down slightly from 1.4% 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.

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
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