Jobless Claims Seen Falling to......>

US DATA PREVIEW: Jobless Claims Seen Falling to 1.8m; Continuing Claims Choppy

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- Claims filed through May 30 are expected to reach 1.843m Thursday (range

1.733m to 1.900m), slowing from the previous week's 2.1m level. 

- Continuing claims through May 23 are expected to rise to 20.05m (range 16m to

23m). That figure, which lags initial claims by a week, surprised last week by

falling nearly 4m to 21.1m, but analysts question the sustainability of the drop

and whether it reflects workers going back to their jobs. 

- California and Florida accounted for 3/4ths of last week's fall, both largely

attributing the drops to local requirements that claimants re-certify for

benefits every two weeks. "Comparison from week to week is cautioned.

Week-to-week claims are a snap shot not the full picture of those who may be

certifying the following week, or who may have forgotten to certify, or have

stopped receiving benefits," a Calif. official told MNI. A Florida rep said the

state stopped auto-disbursing benefits May 9 and switched to a bi-weekly cert

system, meaning some people might not have claimed their benefits.