US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims Increase in the Week Ending December 7th

On Thursday, the US Department of Labor reported that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 242,000 during the week ending Saturday, December 7th. This is an increase of 17,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 225,000 (originally 224,000). The 4-week moving average was 224,250—an increase of 5,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 218,500 (originally 218,250).

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment, known as continuing claims, during the week ending November 30th was 1,886,000. This is an increase of 15,000 from the previous week’s unrevised total of 1,871,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,888,000—an increase of 3,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 1,884,500 (originally 1,884,250) and the highest level since November 27, 2021.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending November 30th, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.