Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 58,000 to 346,000 in the July 5 week, the Labor Department reported yesterday.
The week’s decrease fell below expectations, which had centered on a median of 415,000 in a Market News International survey.
A Labor analyst said the first two weeks of July are known for the “predictable pattern of very large increases,” although this week’s series was hit by retooling in automotive plants and temporary layoffs in the textile and diversified manufacturing sectors.
Seasonal adjustments had expected an increase in the July 5 week’s unadjusted claims of 26.3% or 96,800, but instead got an increase of 8.1% or 30,000.
The four-week moving average dropped 10,000 to 380,500.
Continuing claims for the June 28 week were up 91,000 to 3.202 million, staying above the three million mark since the April 19 week. The last time continuing claims was this high was in the Dec. 27, 2003, week when it was 3.258 million.
The four-week average for continuing claims increased 16,500 to 3,126,000, the highest level since 3,137,250 million was reported in the Feb. 21, 2004, week.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate edged up to 2.4% for the June 28 week, an increase of 0.1 point from the prior week’s rate of 2.3%. A year ago the rate was 1.9%.
The unemployment rate among the insured labor force is roughly half 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
