Key takeaways
- Initial claims for unemployment insurance were higher than expected: 218,000 for the week ending Saturday. It is 3,000 above what economists expected and above the 206,000 initial jobless claims reported last week.
- The four-week moving average, a less volatile metric favored by some economists, was at 212,000, slightly lower than the previous week.
- The figures come as economists await data from next week's jobs report to see if the labor market remains hot.
Ahead of next week's jobs report, the Labor Department reported more new jobless claims than expected, as economists look for signs that the labor market may be cooling.
Taking into account seasonal changes in employment, there were 218,000 new unemployment insurance claims for the week ending Saturday, more than the 215,000 projected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal. It is also higher than last week's revised total of 206,000.
The four-week moving average showed that initial jobless claims totaled 212,000, down marginally from last week's reading. Due to the volatility of the weekly initial claims report, Economists use the four-week moving average. for a less volatile look at employment trends.
Unemployment claims focus attention on the US labor market, which has helped boost the economy to grow its gross domestic product up to 4.9% in the third quarter. Employers continue to create jobs, with the The unemployment rate falls to 3.7% in Novemberdespite interest rate increases that were expected to affect the labor market while controlling inflation.
The next jobs report will be released on Friday, January 5.
