Share- There were 317,000 claims for unemployment insurance in the week ending June 7. Claims slightly increased by 4,000 from the previous week’s level, but this can be considered as normal volatility. Initial claims for unemployment insurance [1] - a measure of existing jobs lost- have essentially normalized after peaking in 2009.
- By state, for the week ending May 31 (latest available data), the largest increases in jobless claims were in Tennessee, Illinois, New Mexico and Washington. Meanwhile, the largest decreases in jobless claims were in California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and North Carolina.
- NAR expects 2 to 2.5 million net new jobs this year and next based partly on the trends in unemployment claims.
[1] Claims filed under the regular state programs, seasonally adjusted