WASHINGTON (MNI) - Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits fell by 6,000 to 289,000 in the December 13 employment survey week, a level that is below expectations, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Analysts in an MNI survey expected claims to rise by 1,000 to 295,000 in the December 13 week from the previously reported 294,000 level in the December 6 week. The claims level that week was revised up to 295,000.
In an employment survey week comparison, initial claims are down 3,000 compared to the November 15 week, when claims came in at 292,000.
The Labor Department said there were no special factors in this week's data, with no states estimated.
After unadjusted claims had risen by close to 32% in the prior week, seasonal adjustment factors had expected a 14.2%, or roughly 55,076, decline in unadjusted claims in the December 13 week. Instead, unadjusted claims fell by 15.9%, or 61,841, to 326,930. The current week's level is below the 414,613 level reported in the comparable week a year ago.
The initial claims seasonally adjusted 4-week moving average dropped by 750 to 298,750 in the week ending December 6, interrupting a streak of five straight increases. The 4-week moving average has been below 300,000 since the September 13 week.
The level of continuing claims was 2.373 million after seasonal adjustment in the December 6 week, a 147,000-decline that roughly cancels out the gain from the previous week.
The level of unadjusted continuing claims fell by 166,134 to 2,349,128 in the December 6 week, this after surging by over 400,000 in the previous week. The current week's level is well below the 2,880,807 level in the comparable week a year ago.
The 4-week moving average for continuing claims rose by 10,000 to 2,397,000.
The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment dropped to 1.8% in the December 6 week from 1.9% in the previous week, and is well below the seasonally adjusted 2.2% rate in the comparable week a year earlier.
The unemployment rate among the insured labor force is well below that reported monthly by the Labor Department because claims are approved for the most part only for job losers, not the job leavers and labor force reentrants included in the monthly report.
The Labor Department reported that a total of 2,576,605 persons claimed unemployment benefits in the November 29 week, a 422,949 increase from the previous week, but down sharply from the 4,423,024 persons in the comparable week a year ago. These data are not seasonally adjusted, and include regular state claims, federal employee claims, new veterans claims, the EUC and extended benefits programs, state additional benefits, and STC/Workshare claims.
