Jobless Claims Dip Only Slightly; First-Quarter GDP Estimate Unchanged

Two fresh bits of economic data, neither of which change the picture much if at all:

-- The Employment and Training Administration says there were 386,000 first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week, down 6,000 from the week before. But it also revised up that previous week's estimate, from the initial report of 387,000.

Basically, claims continue to come in at a pace that signals the labor market still isn't creating enough jobs to bring down the unemployment rate (which stood at 8.2 percent in May).

-- The Bureau of Economic Analysis says gross domestic product grew at a sluggish 1.9 percent annual rate in the first quarter. That's unchanged from its previous estimate of first-quarter economic growth.

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