Unemployment Claims 16/6/2022

The Unemployment Claims rates determine the amount of individuals claiming unemployment insurance for the first time during the past week. This weekly indicator provides very timely data, but traders see unemployment as a slowing indicator that gives little indication of the future performance of the economy. A downward trend has a positive effect on a country's currency, as workers tend to spend more money, and consumption makes up a large part of GDP.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose by 27K to 229K in the week ending June 4, the highest level since mid-January and above market expectations of 210K. However, claims have been below the range of 200,000 to 250,000 that is seen as compatible with healthy labor market conditions since late November. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the largest increases were seen in Georgia (1817 thousand), Florida (1695 thousand) and Pennsylvania (1089) while the largest decreases were in Michigan (-2078 thousand) and Mississippi (-1825 thousand). The 4-week moving average increased by 8K to 215K. Meanwhile, continuing claims remained unchanged at 1,306K compared to expectations of 1,305K

Estimate for today's data is 215,000

In the event that the current release was less than expected, this is an indication of the lack of unemployment complaints, which affects the currency in a positive way and vice versa

The statement will be issued at 3:30 pm Beirut time