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Jobless claims edge up
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June 1, 2000: 8:57 a.m. ET
New unemployment claims rise to 286,000, above Wall St. forecasts
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits edged up to 286,000 last week from a revised 285,000 the prior week, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.
U.S. economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast U.S. jobless claims of 280,000 for the week ended May 27.
 The four-week moving average of claims, which generally provides a more accurate picture of jobless trends, fell to 286,750 last week from a revised 291,250 the prior period.
The four-week moving average has been under 300,000 for 32 straight weeks, pointing to a tight job market - one of the factors that has concerned Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and other members of the central bank, which has been raising interest rates in a bid to slow economic growth and ward off inflation.
Continued claims rose to 1,980,000 for the May 20 week, the latest data available, from a revised 1,946,000 reported for the prior week.
One state, Mississippi, reported an increase in claims of more than 1,000 in the week ended May 20, the latest period for which the data are available. 
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