New applications for US jobless benefits dipped in the latest week but remained at levels too high to put a dent in the unemployment rate.

The Labor Department said today new jobless claims fell to 414,000 in the week ended June 11th from an upwardly revised 430,000 in the prior week.

Economists polled by Reuters had been looking for a smaller decline, to 420,000. Claims have been above 400,000 for two months, reflecting a rough patch in the recovery that has led to renewed weakness in an already anaemic job market.

Continuing claims eased to 3.68 million from 3.70 million in the week to June 4th, the most recent data available, while the total number of recipients on benefit rolls, including those receiving emergency benefits under a congressional extension, remained at 7.4 million in the week ending May 28, down about 200,000 from a week earlier.

The economy produced just 54,000 new jobs in May and the unemployment rate rose to 9.1 per cent from 9.0 per cent, and the jobless claims figures indicated June's reading might not look much better.

Reuters