The data from the Labor Department revealed on Thursday the number of
applications for unemployment decreased less than expected last week.
According to the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped
by 2,000 to 231,000 for the week ended June 25.
Economists had predicted 228,000 new claims last week.
Claims for
the prior week were revised upwardly to 233,000 from the initial estimate of
229,000.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average of jobless claims rose to 231,750
from an upwardly unrevised 224,500 (from 223,500) in the previous week. This
was the highest count since the week ended December 11, 2021 (235,000).
As for continuing claims, they fell to 1,328,000 from an upwardly
revised 1,331,000 (from 1,315,000) in the previous week.