New Unemployment Claims Rise Slightly By 6,000 to 371,000

May 15, 2008 11:20 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The number of individuals filing initial jobless claims for insurance increased in line with estimates by the economists, according to the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report indicated that the filings increased slightly by 6,000 to 371,000 for the week ending May 10, on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The claims for the week ending May 3 were unrevised at 365,000.

Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg forecasted claims would rise to 370,000, according to the median of 34 projections with estimates ranging from 350,000 to 380,000.

"The trend in claims is still upwards and we expect new highs over the next few months,'' Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York, told Bloomberg.

The four-week moving average of initial claims, which is a less volatile measure, slipped by 1,000 to 365,750.

The four-week average was between 300,000 and 325,000 for much of 2007, while it was below 350,000 for most of the first quarter this year.

The number of continuing claims increased by 28,000 to 3.06 million, the highest level since March 2004 and the four-week average of continuing claims rose by 15,250 to 3.017 million, the highest since April 2004.

The rate of unemployment for employees with unemployment insurance remained at 2.3 percent for the week ended May 3.

The Labor Department said there were 26 states and territories registering an increase in initial jobless claims for the May 3 week, while 27 reported a decline in the jobless claims.

According to the report, New York registered the largest rise in initial jobless claims for the week by 11,414. While, Massachusetts reported the sharpest decrease by 5,027.