WASHINGTON – Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits fell by 3,000 to 247,000 in the July 8 week, about what was expected.
The previous week was revised up 2,000 to a level of 250,000, making that the week with the most claims since the end of May. The low point for the year was set in the Feb. 25 week, at 227,000.
The four-week moving average of seasonally adjusted claims rose 2,250 to 245,750, its highest since early April, after which the average had slipped down to the May 27's 239,750, matching the low point of the year first set in late February.
The latest week had no states that needed to be estimated after the previous week, when the July 4 holiday apparently was the cause of a slew of estimates, for seven states.
Seasonal adjustment factors had expected an increase of 13.7% in overall unadjusted claims in the latest week, or 31,089 and instead got a gain of 12.3%, or 31,089. A year earlier there were 298,673 initial claims.
The level of continuing claims declined by 20,000 to 1.945 million in the July 1 week, compared to 1.965 million a week earlier. The four-week moving average of adjusted continuing claims rose by 2,250 to 1,949,250.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate held steady at 1.4% in the July 1 for the 13th straight week. Without seasonal adjustment it was 1.3%.
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.
