Unemployment Claims Flat in Mid-June

-- Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, 7/9/2008 11:41:00 AM

The Department of Labor announced that it received 384,000 initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week that ended on June 21, a figure that is unchanged from the prior week.

This new data, though, increases the four-week moving average for unemployment insurance by 2,250 to 378,250.

The DOL also released state-level information on claims filed during the week that closed on June 14. Nine states and Puerto Rico reported week-over-week declines in claims of at least 1,000. Kentucky reported the most significant decline, with 5,090 fewer claims, which it attributed to fewer layoffs in the automobile and manufacturing industries.

Five states posted increases in initial unemployment insurance claims. Pennsylvania posted the steepest increase, of 4,284, which it attributed to layoffs in the transportation, transportation equipment, petroleum and agriculture industries.