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• Initial jobless claims rose to 218,000 last week, rising by 21,000 compared to a week before
New claims for unemployment in the U.S. rose unexpectedly last week as the U.S. Labor Market published its Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims report.
First-time unemployment claims were recorded as 218,000, for the week ended May 14, increasing by 21,000 a week before and greater than the 200,000 Dow Jones estimate.
The recent uptick in new claims was largely attributed to seasonal factors, Wall Street Journal reported. It concluded that the consistency of the non-seasonally adjusted figures “suggests that not much has changed in the labor market.”
The figures suggest that rapid tightening and strong wage gains have helped to fan overall inflation. The four-week moving average for continuing claims was 1.3 million for the week ended May 7 from the previous week’s level. This is the lowest level reported since December 1969.
The four-week average for claims, which smooths out the volatility in the weekly figures, rose to 199,500 from the previous week’s revised 191,250, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average reached 170,500 last month, its lowest point on records dating back to 1967.
Source - Labor Department
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