Weekly Jobless Claims for Unemployment Rise More than Forecast

The Labor Department reported Thursday weekly jobless claims rose by 3,000 to 269,000 for the week ending July 30, higher than the estimate for 265,000. The prior week was unchanged at 266,000.

The four-week moving average–which is widely considered a better gauge, as it irons out volatility–came in at 260,250, an increase of 3,750 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 256,500.

A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims and no state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending July 16. This marks 74 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1973. However, longterm unemployment has reduced the pool of eligible applicants. Put another way, there are simply fewer people even eligible to apply.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending July 16 were in Puerto Rico (3.3), Connecticut (2.7), New Jersey (2.7), Alaska (2.6), Pennsylvania (2.6), West Virginia (2.4), California (2.2), Rhode Island (2.2), Wyoming (2.1), Illinois (2.0), and Massachusetts (2.0).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending July 23 were in Michigan (+2,598), Illinois (+480), Ohio (+388), Vermont (+212), and Nevada (+68), while the largest decreases were in New York (-7,113), Georgia (-4,604), Oregon (-2,713), Alabama (-2,513), and Pennsylvania (-2,030).