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 Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 10,000 to a
seasonally adjusted 268,000 for the week ended May 21, the Labor
Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week were
unrevised.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast initial claims falling to
275,000 in the latest week. Claims have now been below 300,000, a
threshold associated with a strong job market, for 64 straight
weeks, the longest stretch since 1973.
While the two consecutive weeks of decline helped to unwind some of
the jump in claims between late April and early May, the trend in
jobless claims has become less favorable.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure
of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, rose
2,750 to 278,500 last week.
Economists blame a range of factors for the recent spike in claims,
including the different timing of school spring breaks, which often
makes it difficult to adjust the data. An ongoing strike by Verizon
<VZ.N> workers as well as possible disruptions to manufacturing
activity in the wake of recent earthquakes in Japan have also been
cited.
Economists expect the strike by the about 40,000 Verizon employees
will hurt May payrolls because they would be considered unemployed
as they would not have received a paycheck during the survey period.
The government will release its closely watched employment report
next Friday.
A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors
influencing last week's claims data and only claims for Wyoming had
been estimated.
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The claims report showed the number of people still receiving
benefits after an initial week of aid rose 10,000 to 2.16 million in
the week ended May 14. The four-week average of the so-called
continuing claims increased 8,500 to 2.15 million.
The continuing claims data covered the period during which the
government surveyed households for May's unemployment rate.
The four-week average of continuing claims fell 6,000 between the
April and May survey periods. That suggests little change in the
unemployment rate, which was at 5.0 percent in April.
(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani, Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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