|
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 1,000 to
a seasonally adjusted 216,000 for the week ended Dec. 22, the
Labor Department said on Thursday.
Initial claims have now fallen in three of the last four weeks
and are just above the 49-year low of 202,000 reached in the
week ended Sept. 15.
After several years of near-steady falls, claims trended higher
between mid-September and mid-December, prompting concern the
U.S. economy was losing a step.
It remains unclear how much of that increase was related to the
difficulty government statisticians have in adjusting the claims
data for seasonal swings. Claims can be volatile at the end of
the year when U.S. holidays throw off a model that the
government uses to smooth the data for seasonal fluctuations.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims increasing to
217,000 in the latest week.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates last week for the
fourth time this year, but forecast fewer rate hikes next year
and signaled its tightening cycle is nearing an end in the face
of financial market volatility and slowing global growth.
The Labor Department said claims were estimated last week for
the states of California, Kansas, Texas and Virginia.
The four-week moving average of initial claims, considered a
better measure of labor market trends as it irons out
week-to-week volatility, fell 4,750 to 218,000 last week.
The claims report also showed the number of people receiving
benefits after an initial week of aid decreased 4,000 to 1.70
million for the week ended Dec. 15.
The four-week moving average of the so-called continuing claims
fell 1,000 to 1.68 million.
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
