New data released by the Department of Labor showed that new claims for unemployment benefits increased last week to their highest level in 10 months (August 2023).
According to the information released, some 13,000 new claims were added, lifting the total to 242,000 applications:
In the week ending June 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 242,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 229,000. The 4-week moving average was 227,000, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 222,250.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEK... by Veronica Silveri
Results that contradict forecasts
Economists surveyed by Reuters previously agreed in their projection that new claims would fall to 225,000. However, this increase represented the third consecutive weekly increase.
The number of people already receiving unemployment benefits (continuous claims) in the week ending June 1 increased by 30,000 to 1.82 million.
According to the statement: "The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending May 25 were in New Jersey (2.3), California (2.1), Washington (1.7), Massachusetts (1.6), Rhode Island (1.6), Illinois (1.5), New York (1.5), Alaska (1.4), Connecticut (1.4), Nevada (1.4), Pennsylvania (1.4) and Puerto Rico (1.4)."
Increases and decreases in the number of applications
On the other hand, the largest increases in initial claims in the week ending June 1 were recorded in Minnesota (+2,788), California (+1,974), Ohio (+1,692), Pennsylvania (+1,566) and Florida (+784 )
While the largest decreases in the number of applications occurred in Michigan (-2,706), Texas (-1,822), Tennessee (-1,295), New York (-1,016) and Georgia (-809).
