The Labor Department released its figures for the number of workers filing for unemployment in the week ending on May 16th. It showed that another 2,438,000 workers filed, bringing the total for the last nine weeks to 38,615,000 -- about 24.68% of last months total civilian workforce (156,481,000).
Here is the official announcement from the Labor Department:
In the week ending May 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 2,438,000, a decrease of 249,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 294,000 from 2,981,000 to 2,687,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,042,000, a decrease of 501,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 73,500 from 3,616,500 to 3,543,000.
