<H3>• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Down 23k </H3> [Jobless]

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In the week ending May 18, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 340,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 363,000 and down 8.4% from the same week a year ago. The 4-week moving average was 339,500, a decrease of 500 from the previous week's revised average of 340,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending May 11, unchanged from the prior week's revised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending May 4 were in Alaska (5.0), Puerto Rico (4.4), California (3.3), New Jersey (3.2), Connecticut (3.1), New Mexico (3.1), Pennsylvania (3.0), Nevada (2.9), Oregon (2.9) Illinois (2.8), and Wisconsin (2.8). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending May 11 were in California (+15,060), North Carolina (+1,826), Mississippi (+1,341), Florida (+1,329), and Georgia (+1,118), while the largest decreases were in New Mexico (-754), Oregon (-751), New Jersey (-747), Kentucky (-683), and Tennessee (-488). Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. Source: USDOL-BLS

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