In the week ending May 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 219,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 215,000 to 216,000. The 4-week moving average was 222,500, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 219,750 to 220,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending May 18, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured ... (full story)

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits ticked up last week, but layoffs remain historically low in the face of lingering inflation and high interest rates. Jobless claims for the week ending May 25 rose by 3,000 to 219,000, up from 216,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which quiets some of the week-to-week noise, also rose modestly to 222,500. That's an increase of 2,500 from the previous week. Weekly unemployment claims are broadly interpreted as a proxy for the number of U.S. layoffs in a given week and a sign of where the job market is ... (full story)