Washington, DC, June 29, 2006--First-time applications for state unemployment benefits rose by 4,000 to 313,000 in the week ending June 24, the Labor Department said Thursday.
The four-week average of new claims dropped by 6,000 to 305,500, the lowest since Feb. 25. The four-week average was revised to stand at 311,500 for the week ended June 17.
The previous week's initial claims were revised to 309,000 from 308,000.
The number of new claims was slightly above forecast. Analysts surveyed by MarketWatch had been expecting jobless claims to rise to 311,000 in the week ending June 24.
Meanwhile, the number of people collecting unemployment benefits climbed by 54,000 to 2.41 million in the week ended June 17. It's the highest level of continuing claims since June 3.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims fell by 2,750 to 2.40 million. It's the lowest since Jan. 27, 2001.
The four-week average smoothes out distortions like weather and strikes and is considered a more accurate indicator.
The insured unemployment rate remained at 1.9%, up 0.1 percentage point from a week before.
The jobless claims data are one of the last economic reports before the Federal Reserve concludes its meeting about interest rates Thursday. The central bank is widely expected to hike short-term interest rates to 5.25%.
