Jobless Claims in U.S. Increase to Highest Level Since July
Last edited Thu Dec 31, 2015, 01:46 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: Bloomberg
by Sho Chandra
December 31, 2015 — 8:30 AM EST Updated on December 31, 2015 — 8:49 AM EST
The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits rose more than projected during the Christmas week, reaching the highest level in almost six months, perhaps reflecting typical swings during holidays.
Jobless claims jumped by 20,000 to 287,000 in the week ended Dec. 26, a report from the Labor Department showed on Thursday in Washington. The median forecast of 30 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 270,000. Applications haven’t been this high since the week ended July 4, the American Independence Day holiday.
While there was nothing unusual in the state-level data, the jump could have been caused by the volatility introduced when the numbers are adjusted for seasonal variations, a Labor Department spokesman said as the figures were released to the press. Limited firings, steady hiring and an unemployment rate at more than a seven-year low underscore job market improvement that allowed the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates this month for the first time since 2006.
“We do have to discount the heightened volatility we have around this time of the year,” said Mike Englund, chief economist at Action Economics LLC in Boulder, Colorado, who correctly projected the jump. “When the dust settles, we’ll see claims drop back down. There will be continued slow improvement in the labor market.”
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-31/jobless-claims-in-u-s-jump-to-highest-level-since-july
Source: U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration
Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report
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TRANSMISSION OF MATERIALS IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL 8:30 A.M. (Eastern) Thursday, December 31, 2015
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending December 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 287,000, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 267,000. The 4-week moving average was 277,000, an increase of 4,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 272,500.
There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.6 percent for the week ending December 19, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending December 19 was 2,198,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 2,195,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,220,250, an increase of 9,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 2,211,000.
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UNADJUSTED DATA
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The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending December 12 was 2,336,519, an increase of 80,311 from the previous week. There were 2,541,033 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2014.
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