In the week ending May 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 460,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 474,000. The 4-week moving average was 456,500, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average of 454,250.The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.6 percent for the week ending May 15, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.6 percent.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 15 was 4,607,000, a decrease of 49,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4,656,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,637,250, a decrease of 11,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,648,750.
The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.134 million.
More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, indicating firings persist even as the economy rebounds and employment picks up.Initial jobless claims fell by 14,000 to 460,000 in the week ended May 22, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Economists forecast claims would drop to 455,000, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The economy expanded in the first quarter at a slower pace than initially estimated, the Commerce Department said today.
Some companies such as Pfizer Inc. are shedding workers and closing plants to cut costs, even as the economy has added jobs each month this year. The unemployment rate, at 9.9 percent in April, will still take time to recede as more jobseekers enter the workforce and fail to find work.
“Claims remain the conundrum in the employment picture,” said Russell Price, senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. in Detroit, who accurately forecast initial claims. “They remain elevated, while the vast majority of data point to an improving labor market. Not all industries or sectors are seeing the full benefit of the recovery yet.”
The economy grew at a 3 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year, compared with an advance estimate of 3.2 percent, Commerce Department figures showed. Consumer and business spending rose less than initially estimated.
This graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since 1971.The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims increased this week by 2,250 to 456,500.The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The current level of 460,000 (and 4-week average of 456,500) is still high, and suggests ongoing weakness in the labor market. Still disappointing ... the 4-week average has been moving sideways for almost five months.
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