Weekly Jobless Claims Jump by 21,000

The Labor Department reported weekly jobless claims rose by 21,000 to 275,000 for the week ending December 17, far higher than the 256,000 estimate. The prior week was unchanged at 254,000.

The 4-week moving average–which is widely considered a better gauge, as it irons out volatility–was 263,750, an gain of 6,000 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 257,750.

No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending December 3 and a Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims. While the report marks 94 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1970, longterm unemployment and low participation have simply shrunk the pool of eligible applicants.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending December 3 were in Alaska (4.0), Puerto Rico (2.5), New Jersey (2.4), California (2.3), Pennsylvania (2.3), Connecticut (2.2), Montana (2.2), West Virginia (2.2), Illinois (1.9), Massachusetts (1.9), Minnesota (1.9), and Nevada (1.9).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending December 10 were in Illinois (+2,787), Florida (+566), Colorado (+485), Kansas (+477), and Indiana (+476), while the largest decreases were in New York (-13,110), Pennsylvania (-9,655), Texas (- 4,685), Wisconsin (-4,127), and Minnesota (-3,563).