Jobless Claims Tick Up Amid Summertime Slowdown

Jobless claims inched up last week in a move Bloomberg reported could be due to seasonal employment patterns.

There were 209,000 initial claims for unemployment insurance during the week ended Friday (Aug. 8), a figure that was up 9,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up 1,000 to 200,000, the Department of Labor (DOL) said in a Thursday (Aug. 13) press release.

The four-week moving average of 199,000 was unchanged from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 to 199,000.

Bloomberg reported Thursday that the number of initial claims was higher than median forecast in its survey of economists, which was 202,000.

The report said that the number had been near historic lows and that economists will look for more than one week’s data before changing their views of the labor market. The week’s increase could reflect the seasonal employment patterns and holidays of summer, per the report.

Reuters reported Thursday that Andrew Hollenhorst, chief U.S. economist at Citigroup, said: “The data are consistent with the stable unemployment rate, a ‘low churn’ labor market with limited hiring and firing and slow labor force growth.”

PYMNTS reported Friday (Aug. 7) that consumer sentiment improved in July as Americans grew more optimistic about the economy, although their confidence in their personal finances grew much more slowly.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “The Confidence Divide: Why Americans Trust the Economy More Than Their Paychecks” found that while easing inflation boosted Americans’ confidence in the first half of July, job security concerns grew and pressured people’s spending decisions.

The DOL also reported Thursday that during the week ended Aug. 1, the insured unemployment rate was 1.2%, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.

The insured unemployment number for that week was 1,777,000, which was 22,000 lower than the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 2,000 to 1,799,000, according to the release.

The four-week moving average of 1,785,500 was 5,250 lower than the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 500 to 1,790,750.

No state reported either a decrease or an increase of greater than 1,000 initial claims during the week ended Aug. 1, per the release.