Weekly first-time jobless benefit applications fall for second week

June 27 (UPI) -- Those filing for unemployment benefits for the first time last week fell for the second week Thursday after reaching a 2024 high earlier this month.

The 233,000 first-time benefit filers are 6,000 less than the 239,000 applications filed the week before and 10,000 off the 243,000 for the week ending June 8, the highest total this year.

The number of people filing for unemployment insurance, one of the economy gauges watched by the Federal Reserve, gives a snapshot on the stability of the U.S. workforce weekly.

The unadjusted number of first-time filings last week was 224,410, a decrease of 3,570 from the previous week, the Labor Department said.

The four-week moving average for first-time filings was 236,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average.

The overall total of those filing for unemployment benefits for the week ending June 15 increased by 18,000 to 1.839 million, its highest total since November 27, 2021, when it topped 1.878 million.

The four-week moving average for overall applications was 1.816 million, an increase of 12,250 from the week before and the highest since December 4, 2021, when the average was 1,803,750.