By Robert Hughes
Weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending May 25 rose 3,000 to 215,000. The four-week average came in at 216,750 versus 220,500 in the prior week. The four-week average has been below 230,000 since February 2018, a very strong performance. By historical comparison, claims remain near multi-decade lows and, measured as a percentage of employment, are just slightly above all-time lows. These strong results suggest the labor market remains very tight, and they are a positive for the economic outlook.
Revised estimates show real gross domestic product rose at