Jobless Claims Fall 18K for Week Ending December 14, Prior Jump Unrevised

The U.S. Labor Department report initial jobless claims fell 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 234,000 for the week ending December 14. That follows a jump for the previous week, which was unrevised at 252,000.

Forecasts ranged from a low of 215,000 to a high of 235,000. The consensus forecast was 221,000.

The 4-week moving average came in at 225,500, a slight increase of 1,500 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 224,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at a very low 1.2% for the week ending December 7. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending December 7 was 1,722,000.

That’s an increase of 51,000 from the previous week’s upwardly (+4k) revised level from 1,667,000 to 1,671,000.

The 4-week moving average was 1,683,500, an increase of 6,250 from the previous week average, which was revised up by 1,250 from 1,676,000 to 1,677,250.

No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending November 30.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending November 30 were in Alaska (3.1), New Jersey (2.2), Puerto Rico (2.1), West Virginia (2.1), Montana (2.0), California (1.9), Connecticut (1.8), Minnesota (1.8), Pennsylvania (1.8), and Washington (1.8).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending December 7 were in California (+11,977), New York (+10,875), Texas (+10,290), Pennsylvania (+8,078), and Georgia (+5,631), while the largest decreases were in Oklahoma (-951), Vermont (-147), and Arkansas (-131).