US initial jobless claims and continuing claims for the current week.
- Jobless claims remained elevated at 234K versus 225K estimate
- 4 week average 225.5 K versus 224K last week. Last month the 4-week average was 221.25K. So the average has picked up slightly.
- Continuing claims 1722K versus 167K estimate.
- 4 week average 1683.5 K versus 1677.25K last week
- The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending December 7 were in California (+11,977), New York (+10,875), Texas (+10,290), Pennsylvania (+8,078), and Georgia (+5,631),
- The largest decreases were in Oklahoma (-951), Vermont (-147), and Arkansas (-131).
This week falls in the week that the survey is taken for the December jobs report. So it takes on added importance to some economists and analysts. The seasonals may still be playing with the data (as a result of the late Thanksgiving).
