U.S. Jobless Claims Fall To 14-Month Low

Unemployment insurance claims fell further for the seven days ending on May 15 to mark the lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Labor Department reported.

• Seasonally adjusted initial claims declined by 34,000 to 444,000, the lowest since March 14, 2020’s 256,000.
• The previous week’s level was revised upward by 5,000 to 473,000 from the 478,000 earlier reported.
• The four-week moving average fell 30,500 to 504,750, the lowest since March 14, 2020’s 225,500.
• The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate for the week ending May 8 stood at 2.7% with 3.751 million insured jobless individuals.
• The biggest increases the week ending May 8 initial claims for the same week were in Georgia, Washington, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
• The largest declines for the same week were in Michigan, New York, Vermont, Nevada, and Florida.