Economic Buzz: US Weekly Jobless Claims Pull Back Off Three-Month High

2 Dec 2022 , 09:10 AM

The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back by more than expected in the week ended November 26th. The report said initial jobless claims fell to 225,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous weeks revised level of 241,000. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average inched up to 228,750, an increase of 1,750 from the previous weeks revised average of 227,000. The uptick lifted the four-week moving average to its highest level since hitting 232,000 in the week ended September 3rd. Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also climbed by 57,000 to 1.608 million in the week ended November 19th. With the increase, continuing claims reached their highest level since hitting 1.664 million in the week ended February 26th.The four-week moving average of continuing claims also rose to a nearly eight-month high of 1,538,750, an increase of 30,250 from the previous weeks revised average of 1,508,500.Powered by Commodity Insights