USA: Weekly unemployment insurance claims fall with stable market
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits declined last week, suggesting the job market remained stable despite a slowdown in job growth in June.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 2,000 to 215,000 (seasonally adjusted) in the week ending July 4, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Economists consulted by Reuters had predicted 218,000 applications for the last week.
Orders fell after a surge in late May and early June that most economists attributed to noise related to difficulties adjusting data at the end of the school year.
Some states allow non-teaching employees to file for unemployment benefits during long school holidays, which can distort the model used by the government to eliminate seasonal fluctuations in the data.
Although job growth slowed sharply in June and nonfarm jobs numbers for April and May were revised downward, economists said there was no significant change in the labor market, which they see as stuck in a state of "slow hiring, slow mass layoffs."
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's June 16-17 meeting, published on Wednesday, showed that policymakers' concerns about inflation increased last month and that they "generally expected labor market conditions to remain stable in the near term, with the unemployment rate remaining close to current levels."
Concern about inflation in the US increased in June, Fed minutes show | MONEY NEWS
The minutes also noted that "several participants cited, however, the possibility that uncertainty related to geopolitical developments or the broader economic outlook could lead companies to reduce hiring or begin implementing layoffs."
The Fed kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged in the range of 3.50% to 3.75% at its June meeting, although new projections revealed growing support for a likely rate hike later this year.
The number of people receiving unemployment benefits after the first week of aid - an indicator of hiring - increased by 8,000 to 1.814 million (seasonally adjusted) during the week ending June 27, according to the jobless claims report.
The increase in so-called continuing orders reflects seasonal adjustment issues related to school holidays.
Source: CNN