New weekly filings for unemployment insurance—a proxy for layoffs—inched down by 3,000 last week, suggesting that the labor market remains tight. But the number was far lower than analysts expected, in a possible sign of choppy waters ahead for jobs.
First-time filings for unemployment insurance fell to 229,000 for the week ending on June 11, the Labor Department said in a June 16 report (pdf). Economists expected to see a far sharper drop of 17,000 in the jobless claims number, down to 215,000.
