U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Increase by 18K, Rising from 52-Week Low

In the week ending December 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 206,000, an increase of 18,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 4,000 from 184,000 to 188,000. The 4-week moving average was 203,750, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since November 15, 1969 when it was 202,750. The previous week’s average was revised up by 1,000 from 218,750 to 219,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.4 percent for the week ending December 4, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending December 4 was 1,845,000, a decrease of 154,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the lowest level for insured unemployment since March 14, 2020 when it was 1,770,000. The previous week’s level was revised up 7,000 from 1,992,000 to 1,999,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,963,250, a decrease of 66,000 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020 when it was 1,730,750. The previous week’s average was revised up by 1,750 from 2,027,500 to 2,029,250.

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 267,509 in the week ending December 11, a decrease of 16,426 (or -5.8 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 34,989 (or -12.3 percent) from the previous week. There were 928,634 initial claims in the comparable week in 2020. In addition, for the week ending December 11, 32 states reported 1,854 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.3 percent during the week ending December 4, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 1,712,958, a decrease of 252,821 (or -12.9 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 99,264 (or -5.0 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 3.7 percent and the volume was 5,479,756.

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending November 27 was 2,458,419, an increase of 510,808 from the previous week. There were 21,316,898 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2020.

During the week ending November 27, Extended Benefits were available in the following 4 states: Alaska, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New Mexico.

Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,092 in the week ending December 4, an increase of 232 from the prior week. There were 488 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 213 from the preceding week.

There were 9,786 continued weeks claimed filed by former Federal civilian employees the week ending November 27, an increase of 1,836 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 5,301, an increase of 1,001 from the prior week.

During the week ending November 27, 39 states reported 194,189 continued weekly claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits and 40 states reported 136,413 continued claims for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending November 27 were in Alaska (3.2), California (2.9), the Virgin Islands (2.7), District of Columbia (2.6), Puerto Rico (2.6), New Jersey (2.5), Hawaii (2.3), Illinois (2.2), Minnesota (2.2), and Georgia (2.1).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending December 4 were in Texas (+8,639), New York (+8,523), California (+8,487), Michigan (+4,182), and Illinois (+3,390), while the largest decreases were in Virginia (-3,096) and North Carolina (-1,718).