The data from
the Labour Department reported on
Thursday the number of applications for unemployment fell more than forecast last week.
According to
the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped by 6,000 to 233,000
for the week ended June 22. This was the lowest
weekly total in three weeks. Economists had forecast
236,000 new claims last week.
Claims for the prior week
were revised upwardly to 239,000 from the original estimate of 238,000.
Meanwhile, the
four-week moving average of jobless claims increased to 236,000 from an upwardly unrevised 233,000 (from 232,750)
in the previous week. This marked the highest count since the week ended September 2, 2023 (237,750).
As for
continuing claims, they rose to 1,839,000 compared to a downwardly revised 1,821,000
(from 1,828,000) in the previous week. This represented the highest reading since
the week ended November 27, 2021 (~1,880,000). Economists had predicted continuing jobless claims of 1,830,000.