Unemployment claims decline

WASHINGTON — In the week ending May 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 623,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised figure. The four-week moving average was 626,750, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 5.1 percent for the week ending May 16, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week’s unrevised rate.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 16 was 6.788 million, an increase of 110,000 from the preceding week’s revised level. The four-week moving average was approximately 6.6 million, an increase of 123,750 from the preceding week’s revised average.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.131 million.