U.S. jobless claims rise slightly

The U.S. Department of Labor announced on May 19 that, on a seasonally adjusted basis, for the week ended May 14, the number of initial jobless claims increased by 21,000 to 218,000 from the previous week’s revised value (down 6,000), a record of nearly 4 The monthly high was below the 200,000 economists' average estimate. The four-week moving average of initial jobless claims increased by 8,250 to 199,500 for the week ended May 14 from the previous week's revised value. The seasonally adjusted insurance unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage point from the previous week to 0.9% for the week ended May 7. Consecutive claims for unemployment benefits fell 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1,317,000 for the week ended May 7 from a revised prior week, the lowest level since the week ended Dec. 27, 1969 (1,304,000). The four-week moving average of consecutive jobless claims for the week fell 22,500 to a revised 1,362,250 from the previous week, the lowest level since the week of Jan. 24, 1970 (1,361,000).