Initial unemployment insurance claims rise to 365,000

For the week ending July 28, seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment benefits rose to 365,000, the Department of Labor reported Thursday. That was an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 357,000, originally reported as 353,000. First-time claims in the comparable week last year were 402,000.

The numbers will not affect Friday's job growth survey because they fall outside the data-reporting period the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses each month.

The roller-coaster effect of the past few weeks, which skewed numbers so much that it was difficult to known what they meant in terms of the job market's future, will not show up in next week's report for the first in a month:

Temporary plant shutdowns by automakers for annual retooling cause wide swings in claims data in July, which makes it difficult to get a clear picture of the labor market's health.

The model used by the government to smooth the numbers for typical seasonal patterns has trouble anticipating the timing of the temporary closures and in addition, some automakers kept production lines running in July.

The four-week moving average, which analysts prefer because it flattens volatility in the weekly figure, was 365,500, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 368,250.

For the week ending July 14, the total number of people claiming benefits in all programs, including the federal program of extended benefits, was 5,964,553, a decrease of 69,672 from the previous week.