Another 1.4M U.S. workers file new unemployment claims

July 2 (UPI) -- Another 1.4 million American workers have filed for new unemployment benefits, the Labor Department said in its weekly report Thursday.

The department said 1.43 million new claims were filed by the end of last week, a decrease of 55,000. The report said the unemployment rate was at 13.2 percent on June 27, unchanged from the week before.

The department also revised up last week's report by 2,000 claims.

Most analysts had expected around 1.3 million new claims. Thursday's report marks the 15th consecutive week of at least 1 million new filings.

The department reported just under 1.4 million new claims last week. While still very high by historical standards, Thursday's figure continues a steady decline from a peak of more than 13 million new claims over a two-week period in April.

The report put continuing claims, which lag initial claims by a week, at 19.3 million.

The Labor Department also issued its June jobs report on Thursday, which said the U.S. economy added 4.8 million jobs for the month. The report came a day earlier than normal due to the federal holiday on Friday.