–Cont. Claims Down 36,000 To 3.242 Mln In The May 19 Week

By Ian McKendry

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment
benefits rose 10,000 to 383,000 in the May 26 week, the Labor Department
reported Thursday.

The median estimate of economists surveyed by MNI was for 370,000,
which is essentially where initial claims have been hovering around for
the past four weeks.

Initial claims were at their highest level since April 21, 2012
when they were 392,000.

A Labor Department analyst said there were five states estimated
with California, Virginia and Wyoming providing their own estimates,
while the Labor Dept. estimated claims for Oregon and Hawaii.

The analyst said seasonal factors had expected an increase of about
0.7% or 2,200 in unadjusted initial claims for the May 26 week. Actual
unadjusted claims rose 3.2% or 10,700 to a level of 341,167. Unadjusted
claims were at a level of 381,497 in the comparable week a year ago.

The initial claims seasonally adjusted 4-week moving average was
374,500 in the May 26 week, an increase of 3,750 claims from the
previous week.

The state data released for the May 19 week indicated unadjusted
initial claims increased in 34 states and declined in 19 states, with no
state unchanged. The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Virgin
Islands are included in this data.

Continuing claims fell 36,000 to 3.242 million after seasonal
adjustment and unadjusted were down 80,602 to 3.044 million in the May
19 week.

The four-week moving average for continuing claims fell 12,000 to
3,263,750 in the May 19 week, the lowest level since August 2, 2008 when
it was 3,231,250.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate held steady at
2.6% for the tenth straight week in the May 19 week, and was still down
from the 3.0% rate in the comparable 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.

The Labor Department said that the level of unadjusted Emergency
Unemployment Compensation benefits claims fell by 12,141 in the May 12
week, bringing that category total to 2,618,366. Extended benefits
claims rose by 12,479 to 312,434 not seasonally adjusted in the same
week.

The Labor Department reported that a total of 6,137,862 persons
claimed unemployment benefits in the May 12 week, a drop of 30,753 from
the previous week and well below the 7,713,887 persons in the comparable
week a year ago. These data are not seasonally adjusted, and include
regular state claims, federal employee claims, new veterans claims, the
EUC and extended benefits programs, state additional benefits, and
STC/Workshare claims.

** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]