Economic Buzz: US Weekly Jobless Claims Increase To A 3-Month High

24 Nov 2022 , 09:17 AM

The Labor Department released a report on Wednesday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased by more than expected in the week ended November 19th. The report said initial jobless claims rose to 240,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous weeks revised level of 223,000. With the bigger than expected increase, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 245,000 in the week ended August 13th. The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also crept up to 226,750, an increase of 5,500 from the previous weeks revised average of 221,250. Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also climbed by 48,000 to 1.551 million in the week ended November 12th. Powered by Commodity Insights