In New York state, 19,334 people filed for new unemployment-insurance benefits in the week ending May 25, marking a slight uptick for a third straight week, according to U.S. Labor Department data issued today.
New York posted a year-to-date low of 18,627 claims filed in the week ending May 4. Since then, the state’s weekly claims have edged up to 19,122, 19,320, and 19,334, respectively.
Still, the latest week’s number is down 29 percent from the weekly average of 27,205 initial jobless claims New York reported during the first four months of 2013. The state data is not seasonally adjusted.
The U.S. Labor Department today also reported that nationwide the number of people applying for new unemployment benefits fell by 11,000 to 346,000 for the week ending June 1, compared to the revised figure of 357,000 for the week before. Analysts had been expecting a figure of about 350,000 claims.
The four-week moving average for initial claims increased by 4,500 to 352,500 in the latest week. The U.S. data is seasonally adjusted.
The Labor Department will release state data for new unemployment-benefit filings for the week ending June 1 next week.
Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com