US jobless claims rise 2,000 to 318,000; continuing claims at 10-week high
Thu, Jul 5 2007, 12:47 GMT
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WASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) - The number of people filing new claims for unemployment insurance increased by 2,000 last week, the Labor Department said today.
The Labor Department said 318,000 new claims were filed for the week ending June 30, up from the revised 316,000 from the prior week. Forecasters had expected 315,000 new claims.
The four-week moving average of first time claims rose 1,750 to 318,500, the highest this figure has been since the week ending April 28. Economists prefer the four-week average because it smoothes out fluctuations in the weekly data.
The number of people continuing to claim unemployment insurance in the week of June 23 rose sharply by 84,000 to 2.57 mln against the 2.50 mln expected. That is the largest weekly jump since the week ending Feb 27, and puts the continuing claims figure at its highest point since the week ending April 14.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims is slightly above 2.51 mln, and at its highest level since the week ending May 5.
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