• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Up 10k

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In the week ending December 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 372,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 362,000 and 2.9% below the same week a year ago. The 4-week moving average was 360,000, an increase of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 359,750. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.5 percent for the week ending December 22, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending December 15 were in Alaska (6.6), Puerto Rico (3.9), New Jersey (3.8), Pennsylvania (3.8), Montana (3.6), California (3.4), Nevada (3.4), Oregon (3.4), Connecticut (3.3), and Wisconsin (3.3). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending December 22 were in Ohio (+8,795), Michigan (+6,641), Pennsylvania (+5,530), Kentucky (+4,745), and Massachusetts (+4,330), while the largest decreases were in California (-11,789), West Virginia (-473), Florida (-450), Arizona (-192) and South Dakota (-186). Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. Source: USDOL-BLS

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