–Labor Analyst: No Special Factors, No States Estimated
–Initial Claims Up 12,000 From The April 17 Employment Survey Week

By Kevin Kastner

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment
benefits rose 25,000 to 471,000 in the May 15 employment survey week
after seasonal adjustment, according to data released by the U.S. Labor
Department Thursday morning.

A Labor analyst said that there were no special factors and no
states estimated in the current week’s claims data, which was well above
the 440,000 level expected in a Market News International survey of
economists. Initial claims were revised up slightly to a 446,000 level
in the May 8 week from the originally reported 444,000 level and are now
unchanged from the May 1 week.

Seasonal adjustment factors expected a drop in unadjusted claims of
about 5.7%, which would have been a decline of about 23,000 claims.
Unadjusted initial claims actually fell only 0.4%, or 1,819, to a level
of 407,940. This is still well below the 540,925 level in the comparable
week a year earlier.

Initial claims in the current week were 12,000 above the 459,000
level reported in the April 17 employment survey week.

The initial claims seasonally adjusted 4-week average rose 3,000 to
453,500 in the May 15 week, but remained below the 459,000 level two
weeks earlier.

In the May 8 week, continuing claims fell by 40,000 to 4.625
million and were down 113,074 unadjusted. Continuing claims were at
their lowest levels since the March 27 week, when they stood at 4.562
million.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remained at 3.6%
in the May 8 week, which is well below the 4.8% 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 there were 94,788 less unadjusted
Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits claims in the May 1 week,
bringing that category to 5,101,246. Extended benefits claims rose by
21,419 to 240,260 not seasonally adjusted.

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

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