U.S. Jobless Claims Decrease Roughly In Line With Estimates

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits declined roughly in line with economist estimates in the week ended December 13th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 224,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level of 237,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to slip to 225,000 from the 236,000 originally reported for the previous week.

"Initial jobless claims data continue to be influenced by seasonal volatility, but the level of claims is consistent with relatively steady labor market conditions," said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 217,500, an increase of 500 from the previous week's revised average of 217,000.

Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also rose by 67,000 to 1.897 million in the week ended December 6th.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims still fell to 1.902 million, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week's revised average of 1.916 million.

"Continued claims, which aren't immune to seasonal volatility, remain at a level consistent with a slow pace of hiring," said Vanden Houten.

A separate report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday showed employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of November, although the job growth followed a notable decrease in employment in October.

The report said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 64,000 jobs in November after tumbling by 105,000 jobs in October. Economists had expected employment to rise by 50,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department also said the unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent in November from 4.4 percent in September. The unemployment rate was expected to tick up to 4.5 percent.

With the bigger than expected increase, the unemployment rate reached its highest level since hitting 4.7 percent in September 2021.