US Weekly Jobless Claims Decline in the Week Ending December 9th

The US Department of Labor reported on Thursday (12-14-23) that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 202,000 during the week ending Saturday, December 9th. This is a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 221,000 (originally reported as 220,000). The 4-week moving average was 213,250—a decrease of 7,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 221,000 (originally reported as 220,750).

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment, known as continuing claims, during the week ending December 2nd was 1,876,000 This is an increase of 20,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,856,000 (originally reported as 1,861,000). The 4-week moving average was 1,874,500—an increase of 3,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 1,871,000 (originally reported as 1,865,750) and the highest average since December 11th, 2021, when it was 1,872,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.3% for the week ending December 2nd, an increase of 0.1% from the previous week’s unrevised rate.