Weekly Jobless Claims Fall More Than Forecast, Prior Week Upwardly Revised

The Labor Department said Thursday weekly jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 267,000 for the week ending December 19, far lower than the estimate for 270,000. The prior week was revised higher by 1,000 to 272,000.

The 4-week moving average–which is widely considered a better gauge as it irons out week-to-week volatility–stood at 272,500, an gain of 1,750 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 270,500 to 270,750.

An analyst for the Labor Department said there were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending December 5 were in Alaska (4.2), Puerto Rico (3.0), West Virginia (2.8), Montana (2.6), New Jersey (2.6), Pennsylvania (2.6), California (2.4), Connecticut (2.3), Illinois (2.2), and Nevada (2.2).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending December 12 were in Michigan (+905), Rhode Island (+199), Ohio (+196), Arizona (+78), and Louisiana (+29), while the largest decreases were in New York (-10,297), Pennsylvania (-9,554), Wisconsin (-6,195), Georgia (-5,772), and Texas (-4,535).