The U.S. Labor Department reported initial jobless claims fell 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 234,000 for the week ending December 21. The 4-week average increased by 2,250 to 228,000.
Forecasts ranged from a low of 215,000 to a high of 235,000. The consensus forecast was 223,000.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remained unchanged at a very low 1.2% for the week ending December 14.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending December 14 declined 6,000 from the week prior to 1,719,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,703,500, an increase of 19,250.
No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending December 7.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending December 7 were in Alaska (2.8), West Virginia (2.2), New Jersey (2.1), Puerto Rico (2.1), Pennsylvania (2.0), California (1.9), Connecticut (1.9), Montana (1.9), Washington (1.8), Illinois (1.7), and Minnesota (1.7).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending December 14 were in West Virginia (+397), Illinois (+278), Idaho (+188), North Dakota (+124), and Kentucky (+70), while the largest decreases were in New York (-6,288), Texas (-5,612), Pennsylvania (-4,726), Wisconsin (-3,770), and Georgia (-2,997).
