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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 20,000 to a
seasonally adjusted 245,000 for the week ended Dec. 16, the
Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was
unrevised. Since mid-October, claims have been confined to a
range of 223,000 to 252,000.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to
231,000 in the latest week. Last week marked the 146th straight
week that claims remained below the 300,000 threshold, which is
associated with a strong labor market. That is the longest such
stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller.
The labor market is near full employment, with the jobless rate
at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent. Labor market tightness and a
strengthening economy encouraged the Federal Reserve to increase
interest rates last week for a third time this year. The U.S.
central bank has forecast three rate hikes for 2018.
A Labor Department official said claims-taking procedures
continued to be disrupted in the Virgin Islands months after
Hurricanes Irma and Maria battered the islands. The official
said processing of claims in Puerto Rico was still not back to
normal. Claims for Maine were estimated last week.
Last 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, rose only 1,250 to 236,000.
The claims data covered the survey period for December's nonfarm
payrolls. The four-week average of claims fell 4,000 between the
November and December survey weeks, suggesting another month of
strong job growth.
The economy added 228,000 jobs in November. It needs to create
75,000 to 100,000 jobs per month to keep up with growth in the
working-age population.
The claims report also showed the number of people receiving
benefits after an initial week of aid increased 43,000 to 1.93
million in the week ended Dec. 9. The four-week moving average
of the so-called continuing claims rose 4,250 to 1.92 million.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao) ((Lucia.Mutikani@thomsonreuters.com;
1 202 898 8315; Reuters Messaging: lucia.mutikani.thomsonreuters.
com@reuters.net)
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