Jobless Claims In US / They surge to 368,000

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose sharply last week, reversing the prior three weeks declines, but a recent strengthening of the labor market likely remains intact.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits surged 68,000 to a seasonally adjusted 368,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That was the largest weekly increase since November 2012. Claims for the prior week were revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected first-time applications to rise to 320,000 last week.

The four-week moving average for new claims, which irons out week-to-week volatility, rose 6,000 to 328,750.

A Labor Department analyst said no states had been estimated and there were no special factors influencing the report. He noted, however, that seasonal volatility, including a late Thanksgiving, made it difficult adjusting the data for seasonal variations.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at 

via Jobless claims surge, erase prior weeks’ declines | Reuters.

The Press Release

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT  SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending December 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 368,000, an increase of 68,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 300,000. The 4-week moving average was 328,750, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 322,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.1 percent for the week ending November 30, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending November 30 was 2,791,000, an increase of 40,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 2,751,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,793,500, a decrease of 4,750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 2,798,250.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at 

via ETA Press Release: Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report.