Weekly Unemployment Benefits Tick Up Once Again

Yes, it's time for another weekly unemployment benefits update.

Applications for jobless benefits increased by 18,000 for the week ending June 15, bringing the total to 354,000, up from last week’s revised figure of 336,000, the Labor Department announced on Thursday.

The four-week moving average, a “less volatile” figure, went upby 2,500, bringing the total to 348,250, up from the previous average of 345,750.

Applications have fallen by at least six percent since January.

“The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending June 8, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate,” the report reads.

“The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending June 8 was 2,951,000, a decrease of 40,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,991,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,978,750, an increase of 7,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,971,750,” it adds.

The states with the largest increases in initial claims for the week ending June 8 were Pennsylvania (+5,214), Illinois (+3,364), Texas (+3,007), Georgia (+2,937), and Ohio (+2,326).

Meanwhile, California (-1,209), Kansas (-404), Nebraska (-314), Missouri (-212), and Montana (-202) posted the biggest decreases in initial claims.

Stocks have a bit of a way to go before they can recover from yesterday’s Bernanke Shock:

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