U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Show Modest Increase
(RTTNews) - First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits crept modestly higher in the week ended May 25th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims rose to 219,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 216,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 218,000 from the 215,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Despite the uptick, Bernard Yaros, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics, said, "Initial jobless claims remain well below the level at which nonfarm payroll employment would be at risk of backsliding."
"Job losers are more likely to file for unemployment benefits if they anticipate an extended period of joblessness, but that is not the case today, with the job-finding rate for unemployed workers higher for the most part compared to past cycles," he added.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged up to 222,500, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average of 220,000.
Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also climbed by 4,000 to 1.791 million in the week ended May 18th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims also rose to 1,786,250, an increase of 5,750 from the previous week's revised average of 1,780,500.
Next Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on employment in the month of May.
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