The number of national unemployment claims reported earlier this month was significantly lower than originally reported by the Department of Labor following a fraud investigation by the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance.
Jobless claims on the national scale were revised down by 17,000, from 242,000 to 225,000, for the week ended May 13. That brings the jobless claim number to a 10-week low, according to MarketWatch. New filings decreased to 231,000 from 264,000 in the week of May 6 — “a level that would have been the highest since late 2021,” the website also reported.
“The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance is experiencing an uptick in fraudulent attempts to access unemployment insurance benefits,” Matthew Kitsos, a spokesman for the state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, said in a statement last week. “The increase seen in initial weekly unemployment claims is not reflective of individuals filing for unemployment insurance but rather fraudulent attempts on the system.”
Overall, data released Thursday from the Labor Department indicate that the economy is “enjoying another month of strong employment gains and a lower jobless rate,” Reuters reported.
Although the number of workers filing first-time unemployment claims rose slightly in the current report, the total number of weeks claimants are receiving benefits is declining, according to the Labor Department.
