at a Growing Number of Companies
Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 7,000 to 251,000 in the week ending July 16 from an unrevised 244,000 in the week ending July 9. The four-week moving average of initial claims, which smooths out some of the volatility, moved up 5,000 to 241,000 in the week ending July 16. It hit a low of 172K in early April. The insured unemployment rate edged up to a still very low 1.0 percent in the week ending July 9 from 0.9 percent in the prior week.
The total number of people receiving benefits under regular state unemployment insurance programs (continuing claims) jumped by 51,000 to 1.384 million in the week ending July 9, more than reversing the previous week’s 39,000 decline. The four-week moving average of continuing claims rose 13,000 to 1.353 million. Continuing claims have crept higher in the past eight weeks but are still close to decades-long lows as unemployed workers leave the program’s rolls, either because their benefits have expired or because they have quickly found a new job.
The labor market remains in solid shape as the summer quarter begins but the rise in initial claims since early April is a cool breeze blowing at the hot labor market this summer. The recent rise in the 4-week moving average of initial claims to 241K in the week ending July 16 from a low of 172K in early-April is a clear sign that layoffs are happening at a growing number of companies and the unemployment rate is close to a low at 3.6 percent.
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