US Weekly Jobless Claims Increase in the Week Ending May 20th

The US Department of Labor is reporting that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 229,000 during the week ending on Saturday, May 20th. This is an increase of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 225,000 (originally reported as 242,000). The 4-week moving average was 231,750—unchanged from the previous week’s revised level of 231,750 (originally reported as 244,250).

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment, known as continuing claims, during the week ending May 13th was 1,794,000. This is a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 1,799,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,800,250—a decrease of 12,250 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 1,812,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending May 13th, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.