US applications for jobless benefits fall again as labor market continues to defy the Fed actions

[mahatmakanejeeves]

US applications for jobless benefits fall again as labor market continues to defy the Fed actions

The Associated Press
July 13, 2023, 8:42 AM

The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits fell again last week as the labor market continues defy the Federal Reserve’s attempt to cool it through higher interest rates.

U.S. applications for jobless claims fell by 12,000 to 237,000 for the week ending July 8, from 249,000 previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out some of the week-to-week ups and downs, fell by 6,750 to 246,750.

{snip}

[progree]

1. Graphs and revisions and comparisons to last week's report

Graphs at https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf
of both initial claims and continuing claims aka insured unemployment.

Initial claims: 237k, down 12k from previous week.
Previous week revised up 1k. So on net, initial claims are 11k lower than in last week's report (248k)

In last week's report, unfortunately the 4 week moving average went to its highest level since 11/13/21, so it's good to see it easing back down

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Continuing claims (aka insured unemployment): 1729k, up 11k from previous week
Previous week revised down 2k. So on net, continuing claims are 9k than in last week's report (1720k)