US initial jobless claims come in higher than expected
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Thursday 16 Dec 2021
(Sharecast News) - Claims for unemployment benefits came in higher than expected in the seven days ended 11 December after having hit their lowest level since 1969 the week before.
According to the Labor Department, initial jobless claims totalled 206,000 last week, above estimates for a print of 195,000 and the previous week's upwardly revised total 188,000.
The four-week moving average, which levels out volatility in the numbers, came to 203,750, its lowest level since 15 November 1969, while continuing claims, which runs a week behind the headline number, declined 154,000 to 1.845m, its lowest reading since 14 since March 2020.
Pantheon Macroeconomics' Ian Hewson said: "The uptick in claims is due to the partial unwinding of last week's exceptional drop, but the downward trend continues. The numbers will be very noisy over the holidays, but our take on the seasonals suggests claims will rise over the next few weeks before dropping back below 200,000 in late January.
"The trend can't keep falling at its recent pace, though, as claims already are at historically low levels, and we can't rule out a temporary bump up in the face of the coming Omicron Covid wave."
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