The U.S. Labor Department reported on July 13 that initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 19,000 last week to 332,000.
The increase was the product, suggests Merrill Lynch & Co., of retooling shutdowns in the auto industry, a government shutdown in New Jersey, and the July 4 holiday. Merrill's forecast of 327,000 initial claims in the week ending July 8 was 5,000 lower than the actual figure, however.
The Labor Department's four-week moving average of initial unemployment insurance claims also increased last week, rising by 8,750 to 317,250.
