First-time unemployment filings fell by 8,000 claims from the previous week’s reading, marking the second lowest print during the pandemic and signaling continued recovery in the labor market as high demand for workers pours into the new year.
The Labor Department released its latest report on initial and continuing claims Thursday and here are the main metrics compared to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:
Initial jobless claims, week ended Dec. 25: 198,000 vs. 206,000 expected, and upwardly revised to 206,000 during prior week
Continuing claims, week ended Dec. 18: 1.7 million vs. 1.9 million expected, and downwardly revised to 1.8 million during prior week
The newest print brings the four-week moving average to 199,300 in the week ending Dec. 25, Bloomberg data reflected. Continuing claims dropped to a fresh pandemic low of 1.7 million. Forecast for this week’s jobless claims release ranged from 190,000-225,000 from 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Click here to read the full report from Alexandra Semenova at Yahoo Finance.