In the week ending July 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 227,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 1,000 from 233,000 to 232,000. The 4-week moving average was 235,500, a decrease of 5,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 250 from 241,500 to 241,250. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.3 percent for the week ending June 28, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured ... (full story)

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, remaining in the historically healthy range of the past couple years. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims for the week ending July 5 fell by 5,000 to 227,000, fewer than the 238,000 that analysts forecast. Applications for unemployment aid are viewed as representative of layoffs. The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, fell by 5,750 to 235,500. The total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits for the week of June 28 rose by 10,000 to 1.97 million. That’s the most since November of ... (full story)