US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims Increase in the Week Ending May 31

On Thursday, the US Department of Labor reported that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 247,000 during the week ending Saturday, May 31. This is an increase of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 239,000 (originally 240,000). The 4-week moving average was 235,000—an increase of 4,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 230,500 (originally 230,750).

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 24 was 1,904,000. This is a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 1,907,000 (originally 1,919,000). The 4-week moving average was 1,895,250—an increase of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 1,887,250 (originally 1,890,250). This is the highest level for the average since November 27, 2021, when it was 1,923,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending May 24, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week’s unrevised rate.