Ongoing jobless claims plummet to 17-month low

By Julianne Pepitone, staff reporter


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of people filing for ongoing unemployment insurance plummeted by 255,000 to the lowest level since December 2008, according to government figures released Thursday.

According to a Labor Department report, 4,462,000 people filed continuing claims in the week ended May 29, the latest week available. That's down more than a quarter-million from the previous week.

"People are just falling off the rolls here," said Steve Stahler, president of The Stahler Group. "This isn't good news."

Continuing claims reflect people who file each week after their initial claim until the end of their standard benefits, which usually last 26 weeks. The figures do not include those who have moved to state or federal extensions, nor people who have exhausted their benefits.

"We saw from the last jobs report that the private sector isn't hiring," Stahler said.

Last week a government report showed employers added 431,000 jobs in May -- but 411,000 of those were temporary Census positions.

The 4-week moving average for ongoing claims was 4,617,500, a decrease of 49,250 from the previous week. Moving averages aim to smooth out week-by-week volatility.

Initial claims: Meanwhile, the number of first-time filers for unemployment insurance fell slightly last week.

There were 456,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended June 5, down 3,000 from an upwardly revised 459,000 the previous week.

A consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected 450,000 new claims for the week.

The 4-week moving average of initial claims was 463,000, up 2,500 from the previous week.

Outlook: Initial claims have been "marooned between 450,000 and 475,000," noted Tim Quinlan, economist at Wells Fargo.

"I don't see anything like mass hiring announcements, none of those signals we would look to for improvement," Quinlan added.

Initial claims figures will probably be range-bound for the next several months, Quinlan said, as the unemployment rate "treads water."

State-by-state data: Two states said initial claims fell by more than 1,000 for the week ended May 29, the most recent data available.

Claims in Wisconsin fell by 1,628, which a state-supplied comment attributed to fewer layoffs in the construction, trade, service and manufacturing industries. Texas said new claims fell by 1,063.

Four states said new claims rose by more than 1,000. Florida said claims rose by 3,460, California had 2,801 more claims, Arizona's jumped by 1,521 and Georgia claims rose by 1,158. To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Sponsors

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.