US jobless claims increase as expected
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Thursday 08 Jan 2026
(Sharecast News) - Initial jobless claims in the United States increased largely as expected over the week to 3 January, though the monthly rolling average fell to its lowest in over a year and a half.
According to data out on Thursday from the Department of Labor, the number of first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose 8,000 to 208,000 last week, while the previous week's total was revised 1,000 higher to 200,000.
This was the first increase after three straight weeks of falls from a three-month high at the start of December, but more or less in line with the 210,000 consensus estimate.
However, the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, fell 7,250 to 211,750, hitting its lowest mark since late-April 2024.
Continuing jobless claims - the number of unemployed people who have already filed benefit claims and a still filing claims - increased 56,000 to 1.914m over the week to 27 December, while the seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.2%.
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