U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Edge Down To 276,000

(RTTNews) - First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest decrease in the week ended May 30th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 276,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level of 284,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to slip to 278,000 from the 282,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Despite the drop in weekly claims, the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 274,750, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 272,000.

With the modest uptick, the four-week moving average climbed further off the fifteen-year low set in the week ended May 16th.

Meanwhile, continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, fell by 30,000 to 2.196 million in the week ended May 23rd.

The decrease pulled continuing claims down to their lowest level since hitting 2.161 million in November of 2000.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims also slid to a fourteen-year low of 2,214,250, a decrease of 8,250 from the previous week's revised average of 2,222,500.

Friday morning, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly employment report for May.

The report is expected to show an increase of about 220,000 jobs in May, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 5.4 percent.