Initial jobless claims increased more than forecast last week

WASHINGTON – Jobless claims increased more than expected last week, reflecting a jump in California that otherwise masked steady progress in the U.S. labor market.

Initial applications for unemployment benefits climbed 13,000 to a one-month high of 277,000 in the week ended June 11, a report from the Labor Department showed Thursday. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 270,000.

Claims in California increased by more than 19,000 on an unadjusted basis, probably due in part to schools closing for summer recess, a Labor Department spokesman said as the numbers were released. Even with the advance, filings across the U.S. are consistent with Federal Reserve policy makers’ view that employment will continue to expand after a recent slowdown.

“If we saw claims move up on a sustained basis to a level over 300,000 — probably for at least a month — then I would be concerned,” David Berson, chief economist at Nationwide Insurance in Columbus, Ohio, said before the report. That won’t happen “until the economy finally starts to weaken in the fundamentals.”

- Advertisement -

Economists’ estimates in the Bloomberg survey for weekly jobless claims ranged from 257,000 to 280,000. The previous week’s figure was unrevised at 264,000.

No states estimated data last week and there was nothing unusual in the data, according to the Labor Department.

Jobless claims can be difficult to seasonally adjust leading up to summer breaks at schools, which occur at different times across the country, and around holidays such as Memorial Day. In addition to the 19,470 unadjusted advance in California, filings increased by 6,436 in Pennsylvania.

Four-week average
The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, eased to 269,250 from 269,500.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 45,000 to 2.16 million in the week ended June 4. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits rose to 1.6 percent from 1.5 percent. These data are reported with a one-week lag.

Initial jobless claims reflect weekly firings, and a sustained low level of applications has typically coincided with faster job gains. Layoffs can also reflect company- or industry-specific causes, such as cost-cutting or business restructuring.

No posts to display