WASHINGTON (AFX) - Initial claims for regular state unemployment benefits fell 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 393,000 for the week ended June 15 from the previous week, the Labor Department said.
The fall in jobless claims was unexpected. A consensus forecast of Wall Street economists polled by AFX News called for claims to rise by 4,000 to 394,000 for the week ended June 15. Jobless claims for the week ended June 8 were revised up by 12,000 to 395,000, compared with the initial estimate of a 6,000 increase to 390,000. The four-week moving average for initial jobless claims fell 7,250 to 396,250. This is the lowest four-week moving average since the week ended March 16. On an unadjusted basis, claims fell 27,097 to 351,356 for the week ended June 15. There were 354,526 claims in the comparable week of 2001. For the week ended June 8, the insured unemployment rate was 2.9 pct, unchanged from the previous week. Continuing jobless claims for the week ended June 8 rose 23,000 to 3.78 mln. Continuing claims include workers who have already filed an initial jobless claim, and are now drawing unemployment benefits.