HFE's Ian Shepherdson - "The underlying trend in claims remains upwards but the rate of increase has slowed after the rapid rise earlier this year. Over the next few months claims should climb towards the 400K mark, as companies seek to control costs in the face of persistent very soft demand. In the near-term, expect volatility over the next couple of weeks as a result of Memorial Day seasonals, and then look for claims to spike in early July. The automakers will temporarily lay off far more people than usual in their summer shutdown, as they seek to reduce inventory, so adjusted claims will jump."