US weekly initial jobless claims edged higher, according to government data released Wednesday.
The US Department of Labor said Wednesday (local time) that initial jobless claims for the week of May 17-23 totaled 215,000, up 5,000 from the previous week. The figure slightly exceeded the consensus estimate of 213,000 compiled by Dow Jones.
Continuing claims, filed by those receiving unemployment benefits for two weeks or more, came to 1.786 million for the week of May 10-16, an increase of 15,000 from the prior week. Despite the uptick, the number of weekly initial claims has remained stable in the low 200,000s.
