–Continuing Claims Down 21,000 in June 4 Week Adjusted

By Brai Odion-Esene and Ian McKendry

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment
benefits fell 16,000, and after an upward revision to the previous week,
reaching a level of 414,000 in the June 11 week — the tenth week
solidly back above 400,000, according to data released by the U.S. Labor
Department Thursday morning.

A Labor analyst said that there were no special factors and only
Pennsylvania was estimated in the current week’s claims data, which was
below the 420,000 level expected in a Market News International survey
of economists. State-by-state data for the June 4 week showed that 20
states reported an increase in unadjusted claims, while 33 reported a
decrease.

Initial claims were revised up by 3,000 to 430,000 in the June 4
week. After flirting with a below-400,000 level from early February to
early April, the level of claims has stayed above the 400,000 threshold
since the April 9 week.

According to the Labor Department analyst, seasonal factors had
expected “a relatively large increase” of 11.7% — around 43,000 as a
level — in unadjusted claims, and instead got a 7.7% increase of
28,094, to 394,910. A year earlier the unadjusted level was 448,305.

“They expected this increase because this is the week following a
week with a Federal Holiday,” he said. The Memorial Day Holiday fell on
Monday in the June 4 week.

Claims tend to rise in the week following a federal holiday, the
analyst noted, but because the actual unadjusted claims levels came in
less than the expectation, the seasonally adjusted level fell.

The initial claims seasonally adjusted 4-week moving average was
unchanged from last week at 424,750 in the June 11 week, compared to the
year-earlier level of 426,750.

In the June 4 week, adjusted continuing claims fell 21,000 to 3.675
million, the lowest since the April 16 week and well below the
year-earlier level of 4,585,000.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remain at 2.9% in
the June 4 week, compared to 3.6% 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 87,583 fewer unadjusted
Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits claims in the May 28 week,
bringing that category to 3,293,507. Extended benefits claims fell
27,335 to 591,124. The total number of persons claiming unemployment
benefits in all programs unadjusted was 7,401,228 in the May 28 week,
down 209,116.

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

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