Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected this week's initial jobless claims to total 365,000.
Also, the four-week moving average increased 2,500 to 371,500. Economists view the 4-week average as a better indicator of unemployment conditions, as it smooths-out anomalies for strikes, holidays, or other idiosyncratic events.
Economist Peter Dawson called the weekly rise in unemployment claims troubling. "Falling claims must occur before the economy can rev back up," Dawson said. "The data indicates the economy is not moving in the right direction. Job conditions are not improving."
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending May 31 were in: Texas, +1,010, Oregon, +696, Tennessee, +521, Indiana, +500, and Alabama, +485. The largest decreases were in: California, -4,751, Michigan, -4,129, Florida, -2,657, Ohio, -2,272, and Pennsylvania, -2,100.
Meanwhile, the number of continuing claims increased 58,000 to 3.139 million from a revised 3.081 million for the week ended May 31, the latest period for which figures were available.
Economic Analysis: A poor weekly jobless report. Also, the 4-week moving average continues to rise and is at an elevated level. Further, the continuing claims total climbed to a new high for the economic slowdown: 3.139 million people -- an indication of the difficulty U.S. adults are having trying to secure new employment. That statistic, combined with an elevated 4-week average, indicates that the labor market conditions remains soft -- a decided negative for the U.S. economy.
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