US initial jobless claims hold steady during first week of June

(Sharecast News) - Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a steady pace in the week ended 7 June, according to the Department of Labor. Initial jobless claims came to 248,000, in line with the previous week's upwardly revised rate and versus expectations of a drop to 240,000.

Elsewhere, continuing claims jumped by 54,000 to 1.95m, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, came in at 240,250, up by 5,000 when compared to the previous week's reading.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.3% for the week ending 31 May, an increase of 0.1% on the previous week.



Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com