Unemployment claims registered a fall for the most recent week, but still remained higher than expected, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL).
“In the week ended July 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 256,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level,” a July 28 press release said. “The four-week moving average was 249,250, an increase of 6,250 from the previous week’s revised average.”
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for the week ended July 16 fell by 25,000 from a week ago, to 1,359,000. The four-week moving average rose by 8,750, to 1,362,000.
According to Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, new applications for jobless aid “came in higher than expected,” he said to The Epoch Times via e-mail. The nation’s unemployment rate continues to be at 3.6 percent, which is “just a tick above the pre-pandemic low.”…