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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits decreased 13,000
to a seasonally adjusted 222,000 for the week ended Dec. 21, the
Labor Department said on Thursday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims would fall to
224,000 in the latest week. Claims have been volatile in recent
weeks around the U.S. holiday season and end of the year.
The drop in the latest week largely unwound a surge in new
claims two weeks earlier that appeared to reflect a late
Thanksgiving Day this year compared to 2018. That could have
thrown off the model used by the government to strip out
seasonal fluctuations from the data.
The Labor Department said claims for California, Hawaii, Kansas,
Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia and Puerto Rico were
estimated for the latest week.
The four-week moving average of initial claims, considered a
better measure of labor market trends as it irons out
week-to-week volatility, edged up by 2,250 to 228,000. The
underlying trend in claims remains consistent with a strong
labor market.
In November, the U.S. unemployment rate fell back to 3.5%, the
lowest in nearly half a century.
Labor market strength is underpinning consumer spending, keeping
the economy on a moderate growth path despite headwinds from
trade tensions and slowing global growth that have weighed on
manufacturing.
Thursday's claims report also showed the number of people
receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell 6,000 to
1.72 million for the week ended Dec. 14. The four-week moving
average of the so-called continuing claims rose 19,250 to 1.70
million.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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