U.S. Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Slip To 227,000

(RTTNews) - First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged modestly lower in the week ended July 5th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 227,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level of 232,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 235,000 from the 233,000 originally reported for the previous week.

"The latest jobless claims data were influenced by seasonal quirks, including the summer shutdown of auto plants, but remain consistent with a labor market characterized by both a slow pace of hiring and relatively few private-sector layoffs," said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

She added, "For now, the labor market is healthy enough to allow the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged as it assesses the tariff impact on inflation."

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 235,500, a decrease of 5,750 from the previous week's revised average of 241,250.

Meanwhile, the report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, rose by 10,000 to 1.965 million in the week ended June 28th.

With the increase, continuing claims reached their highest level since hitting 1.970 million in the week ended November 13, 2021.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims also edged up to 1,955,250, an increase of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average or 1,951,750.

This is the highest level for this average since November 20, 2021 when it was 2,004,250, the Labor Department said.

Last Thursday, the Labor Department released a more closely watched report showing employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of June.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 147,000 jobs in June after jumping by an upwardly revised 144,000 jobs in May.

Economists had expected employment to increase by 110,000 jobs compared to the addition of 139,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 percent in June from 4.2 percent in May. The unemployment rate was expected to inch up to 4.3 percent.