New York’s initial unemployment claims jump by 62 percent in latest week

The number of people applying for new unemployment-insurance benefits in New York state in the week ended July 6, soared by 15,163, or 62 percent, to 39,455.

The jump was led by layoffs in the transportation, educational service, and health care and social assistance industries, according to a U.S. Department of Labor news release issued today.

After posting a year-to-date low of 18,627 initial jobless claims filed in the week ending May 4, New York’s weekly claims have increased in eight of the last nine weeks, with the latest week’s rise by far the biggest.

Michigan is the only state that had more layoffs, with 17,700, in the week ended July 6 than New York.

The number of New Yorkers continuing to receive unemployment benefits also rose in the latest week — increasing by 6.3 percent to 226,186 from the previous week’s 212,693 claims, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The state data is not seasonally adjusted.

The U.S. Labor Department also reported today that nationwide the number of people applying for new unemployment benefits declined by 24,000 to 334,000 for the week ended July 13, compared to the revised figure of 358,000 for the week before. Analysts had been expecting about 345,000 to 350,000 initial claims.

The four-week moving average for national initial jobless claims decreased by 5,250 to 346,000 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 ended July 13 next week.

Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com