Applications for benefits rise 16,000 to 360,000; a summer blip?
By Jeffry Bartash, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits in the first week of July jumped to the highest level in two months, but the increase may reflect temporary changes in summer employment patterns in large industries such as autos and education.
Initial jobless claims rose by 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 360,000 in the week ended July 6, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected claims — a proxy for layoffs — to rise to 349,000 in the week ended July 6 from a slightly revised 344,000 in the prior week.
A Labor official said there was nothing unusual in the data, but the claims report often seesaws in July because of shutdowns at auto plants for retooling and temporary layoffs related to the end of the regular school year. The July 4 holiday can also skew the data early in the month.
In 2012, for example, claims shot up from 363,000 to 382,000 in the middle of July and then fell back down to 363,000 one week later.
The less volatile four-week average of claims rose a smaller 6,000 to 351,750 in the first week of July and reflected little change in labor-market trends. Layoffs have slowed to a post-recession low and the nation has added an average of about 200,000 jobs a month through the first six months of 2013.
Initial claims have hovered around the 350,000 mark for all of 2013.
Meanwhile, the number of people already receiving benefits, known as continuing claims, fell by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2.98 million in the week ended June 29. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.
Initial claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 344,000 from an original reading of 343,000, based on more complete data collected at the state level.
Jeffry Bartash is a reporter for MarketWatch in Washington.
