–Initial Claims Up 15,000 Vs May 12 Employment Survey Week
–Continuing Claims Level Unchanged At 3.299 Mln In The June 9 Week

By Brai Odion-Esene and Kevin Kastner

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment
benefits fell by 2,000 to 387,000 in the June 16 employment survey week
after a small upward revision to the previous week, the Labor Department
reported Thursday.

Initial claims were at a level of 372,000 in the May 12 employment
survey week.

The median estimate of economists surveyed by MNI was for 385,000,
a decline of 1,000 from the initially reported 386,000 level in the
June 9 week. That week’s claims level was revised up to 389,000.

A Labor Department analyst said there was nothing unusual in the
state level data. He noted that at the time the report was being
created, New Jersey had not submitted any data so its jobless claims
numbers were estimated.

New Jersey has provided its claims numbers since then, and the
analyst said the data submitted “came in close” — so the Labor
Department’s estimate didn’t have a “meaningful” impact on the report.

The analyst said seasonal factors had expected a decline of about
3.9%, or 14,700, in unadjusted initial claims. Actual unadjusted claims
fell 4.5% or 17,032 to a level of 359,578. Unadjusted claims were at a
level of 394,286 in the comparable week a year ago.

The initial claims seasonally adjusted 4-week moving average was
386,250 in the June 16 week, an increase of 3,500 claims from the
previous week. This is the fourth consecutive rise in the 4-week moving
average and the highest since December last year (391,250).

The state data released for the June 9 week indicated unadjusted
initial claims increased in 44 states and declined in 9 state, with 0
states unchanged. The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Virgin
Islands are included in this data.

Continuing claims came in at 3.299 million after seasonal
adjustment in the June 9 week, unchanged from the previous week.
Unadjusted continuing claims were down a mere 212 to 3,091,004 in the
week, below the 3,491,533 level in the comparable week a year ago.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate held steady at
2.6% for the twelfth straight week in the June 9 week, 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 dropped by 17,764 in the June
2 week, bringing that category total to 2,533,749. Extended benefits
claims plunged by 24,638 to 110,864 not seasonally adjusted in the same
week.

The Labor Department reported that a total of 5,826,164 persons
claimed unemployment benefits in the June 2 week, a decrease of 1,164
from the previous week and well below the 7,542,315 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$]