Continued Unemployment Benefit Claims Reach 1.945 Million,
Exceeding Market Expectations
Last week, the number of new unemployment benefit claims in the United States decreased slightly compared to the previous week, falling short of market expectations.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor on June 18 (local time), the number of new unemployment benefit claims for the week of June 8 to 14 was tallied at 245,000. This figure is down by 5,000 from the previous week's 250,000 and is also slightly below the market forecast of 246,000. However, it still remains at its highest level in about eight months.
The number of continuing unemployment benefit claims, which counts those receiving benefits for more than two weeks, was recorded at 1,945,000 for the week of June 1 to 7. This is lower than the revised figure for the previous week (1,951,000), but slightly above the market expectation of 1,940,000.
The number of continuing claims had reached its highest level in about three and a half years in the previous week, but declined somewhat within a week, partially easing concerns about a slowdown in the labor market.
Weekly unemployment benefit claims tend to be highly volatile, as they are affected by seasonal factors such as holidays and summer vacations.
Wall Street is focusing on major economic indicators such as employment, inflation, and growth rates in order to assess the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies on the economy. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to hold a regular Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on this day to decide on the benchmark interest rate, and it is highly likely that the current rate of 4.25-4.5% per year will be kept unchanged.
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