New jobless claims fall back to 229,000 |
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week and data for the prior two weeks was revised sharply lower likely as fraudulent applications from Massachusetts were stripped out, indicating persistent labor market strength. The Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 229,000 for the week ended May 20th. Data for the prior week was revised to show 17,000 fewer applications received than previously reported. Claims for the week ending May 6th were revised down by 33,000. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 245,000 overall claims for the latest week. The four-week moving average of initial claims was unchanged at 231,750, while the number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 5,000 to 1.794m in the week to May 13th. “After trending higher through the first quarter, initial claims have leveled off and moving more sideways in recent weeks,” said lead U.S. economist Nancy Vanden Houten of Oxford Economics. “We expect jobless claims will resume their upward trend as the economy weakens and enters a mild recession in the second half of the year, when we look for layoffs to become more widespread". |
|