Initial claims for state unemployment surged to their largest gain in more than three years, rising 58,000 to a 26-year high of 573,000 in the Dec. 6 week, the Labor Department reported yesterday. Forecasts had centered on an increase to a level of 540,000 for the week, in a range of 523,000 to 545,000.
A Labor analyst said: “There are three things going on driving the seasonally adjusted number for this week.”
The revision to the Nov. 29 week was upward, as initial claims are now reported down 16,000 to 515,000 from that period, compared with an initial estimate of 509,000.
The level of continuing claims rose a whopping 338,000 to 4.429 million in the Nov. 29 week. The last time continuing claims were this high was Dec. 4, 1982, when it hit 4.509 million.
— Market News International
