US Weekly Jobless Claims Rise 10,000 To 268,000

Washington (Jun 30)  First-time weekly jobless claims in the US rose 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 268,000 during the week to Saturday, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Consensus expectations compiled by various news organizations had called for initial claims to be around 265,000 to 266,000. This was the 69th straight week that claims were below 300,000, the longest streak since 1973, the Labor Department reported.

The government revised the prior week’s tally to 258,000 claims from the previously reported 259,000.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average for new claims – often viewed as a more reliable measure of the labor market since it smoothens out week-to-week volatility – was unchanged at 266,750, although the previous week’s average was revised down by 250 claims.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims, the Labor Department said.

Continuing jobless claims, the number of people already receiving benefits and reported with a one-week delay, decreased by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2,120,000 during the week ending June 18, the government said. The four-week moving average fell by 13,000 to 2,133,500. This was the lowest for this average since November 2000, the Labor Department reported.

Traders monitor jobs data closely to gauge how aggressively the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee alters monetary policy.

SOURCE: KitcoNews