By Ian Mckendry and Kevin Kastner
WASHINGTON (MNI) – Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment
benefits fell 7,000 to 444,000 in the May 1 week after seasonal
adjustment, according to data released by the U.S. Labor Department
Thursday morning.
The level was above the 440,000 level expected in a Market News
International survey of economists. Initial claims were revised up to a
451,000 level in the April 24 week from the originally reported 448,000
level.
A Labor analyst said that seasonal adjustment factors expected a
decline in unadjusted claims of 6.3%, which would have been a drop of
about 27,000 claims. Unadjusted initial claims actually fell 7.9%, or
33,783 to a level of 392,629.
Tennessee was estimated this week due to recent flooding in some
government offices.
The initial claims seasonally adjusted 4-week average declined
4,750 to 458,500 in the May 1 week.
In the April 24 employment week continuing claims fell by 59,000 to
4.594 million, and were down 152,657 unadjusted.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remained at 3.6%
in the April 24 week, which is well below the 4.7% 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 there were 153,786 more unadjusted
Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits claims in the April 17
week, bringing that category to 5,354,259. Extended benefits claims,
however, declined by 997 to 201,487 not seasonally adjusted.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]
