US Weekly Jobless Claims Increase in the Week Ending December 16th

The US Department of Labor reported on Thursday (12-21-23) that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 205,000 during the week ending Saturday, December 16th. This is an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 203,000 (originally reported as 202,000). The 4-week moving average was 212,000—a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 213,500 (originally reported as 213,250).

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment, known as continuing claims, during the week ending December 9th was 1,865,000. This is a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,866,000 (originally reported as 1,876,000). The 4-week moving average was 1,878,000—an increase of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 1,872,000 (originally reported as 1,874,500). This is the highest level since December 11th, 2021, when it was 1,888,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.3% for the week ending December 9th, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.