–Continuing Claims Rise 34,000 To 3.293 Mln In The May 26 Week

By Kevin Kastner and Ian McKendry

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment
benefits fell 12,000 to 377,000 in the June 2 holiday week after a
relatively large upward revision to the previous week, the Labor
Department reported Thursday.

The median estimate of economists surveyed by MNI was for 380,000,
a decline of 3,000 from the initially reported 383,000 level in the May
26 week. That week’s claims level was revised up to 389,000.

A Labor Department analyst said there were not states estimated and
no special factors in the current week except the Memorial Day holiday.

The analyst said seasonal factors had expected a decline of about
4.3%, or 14,700, in unadjusted initial claims in the holiday-shortened
week. Actual unadjusted claims fell 7.0% or 24,376 to a level of
321,884. Unadjusted claims were at a level of 366,816 in the comparable
week a year ago.

The initial claims seasonally adjusted 4-week moving average was
377,750 in the June 2 week, an increase of 1,750 claims from the
previous week.

The state data released for the May 26 week indicated unadjusted
initial claims increased in 37 states and declined in 1 state, with 15
states unchanged. The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Virgin
Islands are included in this data.

Continuing claims rose 34,000 to 3.293 million after seasonal
adjustment in the May 26 week, the highest since 3.329 million in the
April 14 week. Unadjusted continuing claims were down 21,271 to 3.039
million in the week, well below the 3.426 million level in the
comparable week a year ago.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate held steady at
2.6% for the eleventh straight week in the May 26 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 fell by 45,808 in the May 19
week, bringing that category total to 2,572,558. Extended benefits
claims fell by 58,829 to 253,605 not seasonally adjusted in the same
week.

The Labor Department reported that a total of 5,970,729 persons
claimed unemployment benefits in the May 19 week, a drop of 167,133 from
the previous week and well below the 7,610,491 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$]