First-Time Jobless Claims Up by 1.9M, Initial Filings Decline for Ninth Straight Week

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Another 1.9 million Americans filed first-time unemployment claims in the week ending May 30, the U.S. Department of Labor reported. The latest figure is about 100,000 claims higher than economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected, with the forecast looking at just under 1.8 million claims. Since the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. in March, approximately 42.4 million claims have been filed. The Department of Labor also reported that the four-week moving average is at nearly 2.3 million claims, a decrease of 324,750 from the previous four-week average. Additionally, the number of first-time jobless claims has decreased for nine consecutive weeks.