ZCZC
BCN-27
US-UN EMPLOYMENT-RATE
U.S. jobless claims remain unchanged last week
WASHINGTON, June 7, 2019 (BSS/Xinhua) – The number of initial jobless
claims in the United States remained unchanged last week, according to a
report released by the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday.
In the week ending June 1, the number of people filing for U.S.
unemployment benefits remained flat at 218,000. Meanwhile, the previous
week’s level was revised up by 3,000 from 215,000.
The report also showed that four-week moving average of initial claims, a
method to iron out data volatility, dropped by 2,500 to 215,000. Meanwhile,
the previous week’s number was revised up by 750 to 217,500.
As an important leading indicator to reflect unemployment status in the
United States, a lower reading in jobless claims indicates lower overall
layoffs. The reading of jobless claims remained below the 300,000 threshold,
signaling a tight labor market in the United States.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported early this month that the
unemployment rate dropped to 3.6 percent in April, which was the lowest level
since December 1969. The bureau is about to release the unemployment rate for
May on Friday, June 7.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1250