US jobless claims held at a 20-month high, and the current account gap widened

June 22 (Reuters) – The number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time held steady at a 20-month high last week, staying high for the third straight week in what could be an early sign of a downturn in the country’s labor market. Countering the Fed’s aggressive credit tightening.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday showed that 264,000 new claims were filed for unemployment benefits on a seasonally adjusted basis in the week ending June 17, unchanged from the upwardly revised level the week before, and the highest level of initial claims activity since October. 2021.

The median forecast among economists polled by Reuters was for 260,000 new claims.

Meanwhile, the ranks of all those who continued to receive benefits after the first week fell to 1.759 million in the week ending June 10 from a revised 1.772 million the week before. The latest reading compared to economists’ median estimate of 1.782 million for so-called continuing claims.

The government also reported that the United States’ current account deficit — the broadest measure of the flow of goods, services and investments in and out of the country — widened modestly in the first three months of 2023, narrowing by three-quarters.

The Commerce Department said the current account gap grew to $219.3 billion in the first quarter from a revised $216.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022. Economists polled by Reuters had expected it to widen to $217.5 billion.

Reporting by Dan Burns. Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

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