In the week ending June 17, the
advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims
was 308,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's revised
figure of 297,000.
The increase in number of Americans
filing claims for unemployment benefits is the largest amount in
five weeks, suggesting the impact of slowing economy on employment
market.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured
unemployment during the week ending June 10 was 2,439,000, an increase
of 18,000 from the preceding week.
Analysts believe that job growth will
weaken in coming months and layoffs will rise as businesses adjust
their hiring plans in the face of an expected economic slowdown (AP).
40 states and territories saw
increases in claims applications while 13 saw a drop in applications.
The biggest decline occurred in Texas,
a fall of 2,065 applications.