New weekly filings for unemployment insurance—a proxy for layoffs—inched down by 3,000 last week, suggesting the labor market remains tight, but the number was far lower than analysts expected, in a possible sign of choppy waters ahead for jobs.
First-time filings for unemployment insurance fell to 229,000 for the week ending on June 11, the Labor Department said in a report (pdf). Economists expected to see a far sharper drop of 17,000 in the jobless claims number down to 215,000.
The prior week’s jobless claims figure was revised up to 232,000 and the four-week moving average, which smooths out the week-to-week fluctuations, inched higher by 2,750….