Initial claims for the week ending June 8 hit 222,000 (Briefing.com consensus 220,000), up 3,000 from the prior week's revised level of 219,000 (revised from 218,000).

Continuing claims for the week ending June 1 increased by 2,000 to 1.695 mln from the previous week's revised level of 1.693 mln (revised from 1.682 mln).

The four-week moving average for initial claims increased by 2,500 to 217,750.

The four-week moving average for continuing claims increased by 7,750 to 1,683,250.

Initial claims have held below 300,000 for 223 straight weeks.

The key takeaway from the report is that unemployment claims continue pointing to a tight labor market.