EmailThe initial claims level increased from an upwardly revised 373,000 (from 370,000) for the week ending May 19 to 383,000 for the week ending May 26. The Briefing.com consensus expected the initial claims level to fall to 368,000.
Excluding the temporary increase in claims as a result of poor seasonal adjustments around the Easter holiday, initial claims are at their highest level since the first week of January 2012. The fact that claims jumped on the same day that the ADP report showed poor employment gains leaves us concerned that May nonfarm payrolls will come in lower than the consensus expectation of 150,000 new jobs. The continuing claims level fell from 3.278 mln for the week ending May 12 to 3.242 million for the week ending May 19. The consensus expected the continuing claims level to fall to 3.250 million.
