WASHINGTON (MktNews) - Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits slipped by 35,000 to 414,000 in the week ending July 14, as retooling auto factories recalled some of their workers, the Labor Department said Thursday.
"The auto industry is seeing a lot of recalls," a Labor Department analyst said as the report was being made public. The partly reverses last week's large surge in initial claims which was attributed mainly to the beginning the traditional summer retooling season by the auto industry. Claims had risen to a revised nine-year high last week of 449,000.
The new initial claims level was close to the consensus forecast from a Market News International survey, which had centered on a decrease of 25,000 to 420,000, with a range of 405,000 to 432,000.
A comparison of employment survey weeks shows initial claims at 414,000 this week vs. 404,000 in the June 16 week.
The four-week moving average this week increased by 2,500 to 414,500.
Initial claims were up 45,000 to 449,000 in the week ended July 7, revised from the up 42,000 to 445,000 originally reported.
Continuing claims jumped 76,000 to 3.112 million in the July 7 week. Reporting in this area lags initial claims by one week.
This puts continuing claims at the highest level since October 1992, the Labor Department said.
The seasonally adjusted rate of insured unemployment was unchanged at 2.4% in the July 7 week.