Article written by Jeffry Bartash, via https://www.marketwatch.com
New jobless claims in the seven days ended May 20 rose by 4,000 from 225,000 in prior week, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Yet U.S. jobless claims for the first two weeks of May were slashed after Massachusetts amended its prior reports.
The result: Jobless claims show little or no sign of rising U.S. layoffs since the early spring.
Key details: Twenty-six of the 53 U.S. states and territories that report jobless claims showed a decrease.
In Massachusetts, actual jobless claims fell to 1,640 from a revised 3,830 in the prior week (originally 20,901).