Unemployment Claims Pick Up Ahead of Holidays

Initial claims for unemployment insurance increased just before the holidays, the Labor Department reported last Thursday.

For the week ending December 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims rose to 225,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 216,000. The four-week moving average fell to 221,000, a decrease of 250 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.2 percent for the week ending December 17. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending December 17 rose to 1,710,000, an increase of 41,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The four-week moving average rose to 1,679,500, an increase of 25,250 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 271,590 in the week ending December 24, an increase of 23,146 (9.3 percent) from the previous week. The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 12,974 (5.2 percent) from the previous week. Labor reported 257,870 initial claims in the comparable week in 2021.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.1 percent during the week ending December 17. The advance unadjusted level of insured unemployment in state programs totaled 1,569,764, a decrease of 24,364 (-1.5 percent) from the preceding week. The seasonal factors had expected a decrease of 61,762 (-3.9 percent) from the previous week. A year earlier the rate was 1.2 percent; volume was 1,638,597.

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending December 10 rose to 1,619,728, an increase of 91,461 from the previous week. Labor reported 2,177,372 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2021.