–Claims Level In June 18 Week Unchanged At 429,000
–Cont. Claims Down 16,000 From 3.702 Mln In May 14 Survey Week

By Brai Odion-Esene and Ian McKendry

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment
benefits were essentially unchanged in the week of June 25, down 1,000
to 428,000 after seasonal adjustment, the Labor Department reported
Thursday.

Economists surveyed by Market News International had expected
initial claims to come in at 420,000, down 9,000 from the initially
reported level of 429,000. And contrary to expectations, the previous
week’s claims were unchanged at 429,000.

Last week, a Labor Department analyst noted that due to technology
issues, claims data from six states had to be estimated by the Labor
Department. Those states were Mississippi, Ohio, Oregon, New Hampshire,
the Virgin Islands, and Washington State.

And while many in the market had expected the claims figure for the
June 18 employment survey week to be revised upward significantly, the
Labor analyst told Market News International that after receiving data
from states, the claims level came in “very close” to the initial
estimate, hence there was no change.

The analyst said seasonal factors had expected an increase of 2.4%,
or about 9,500 unadjusted claims in the current week. The rise in
unadjusted claims actually came close to the expectation, up 2.3% —
8,998 — to 403,284 in the current week. Unadjusted claims were at a
level of 444,712 in the comparable week a year earlier.

The initial claims seasonally adjusted 4-week moving average was
426,750 in the June 25 week, up by 500 from the previous week.

The state data released for the June 18 week indicated unadjusted
claims increased in 17 states and declined in 36 states. The District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands are included in this data.

In the June 18 employment survey week, continuing claims fell
12,000 to 3,702,000 after adjustment, while unadjusted continuing claims
fell by just 320.

Continuing claims were reported at 3.702 million in the May 14
employment survey week.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate dipped to 2.9% in
the June 18 week from 3.0% the prior week, but was still down from the
3.6% 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 rose by 1,471 in the June 11
week, bringing that category to 3,300,706. Extended benefits claims
declined by 28,791 to 624,896, not seasonally adjusted in the same week.

The Labor Department reported that a total of 7,511,613 persons
claimed unemployment benefits in the June 11 week, a decline of 30,701
from the previous week, but still well below the 9,351,052 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.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

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