Ahead of the Bell: Unemployment Rate

Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR predict the unemployment rate rose to 5.1 percent last month from 5 percent in April, and that payrolls shrank by 60,000, compared with a loss of 20,000 jobs a month earlier.

The Labor Department is scheduled to release the data at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

The department on Thursday said new applications for unemployment benefits fell by 18,000 to 357,000 last week, the lowest level since mid-April. Private economists had expected claims would rise slightly.

The government's four-week moving average of new claims, which smooths out week-to-week fluctuations, also fell by 2,750 to 368,500. But the four-week average for people receiving benefits edged up to nearly 3.1 million, the highest level since March 2004.

Several airlines and other companies announced job cuts this week, including:

_ Continental Airlines Inc. said it is cutting 3,000 jobs, or 6.5 percent of its work force.

_ UAL Corp.'s United Airlines said it will cut up to 1,100 salaried and management employees by the end of the year, in addition to the 500 employees it has already planned to lay off.

_ Spirit Airlines said it may lay off or move as many as 60 percent of its flight attendants and 45 percent of its pilots.

_ General Motors Corp. said it will be closing four pickup truck and sport utility vehicle factories and shedding 8,350 jobs in the process.