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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 9,000 to a
seasonally adjusted 227,000 for the week ended June 23, the
Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims data for the prior
week was unrevised. Filings had dropped for four straight weeks
prior to the latest data.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to
220,000 in the latest week. There is probably limited scope for
claims to post significant declines.
The labor market is viewed as being near or at full employment,
with the jobless rate at an 18-year low of 3.8 percent. The
unemployment rate has dropped by three-tenths of a percentage
point this year and is near the Federal Reserve's forecast of
3.6 percent by the end of this year.
The Labor Department said claims for Maine and Wyoming were
estimated last week.
The four-week moving average of initial claims, viewed as a
better measure of labor market trends as it irons out
week-to-week volatility, edged up 1,000 to 222,000 last week.
The claims report also showed the number of people receiving
benefits after an initial week of aid fell 21,000 to 1.71
million in the week ended June 16. The four-week moving average
of the so-called continuing claims dropped 3,750 to 1.72
million, the lowest level since December 1973.
The continuing claims data covered the week of the household
survey from which June's unemployment rate will be derived. The
four-week average of continuing claims decreased 32,000 between
the May and June survey periods, suggesting a further decline in
the jobless rate this month was likely.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani Editing by Paul Simao)
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