Jobless claims: Another 198,000 individuals filed new claims last week

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Yahoo! Finance

Yahoo Finance

Jobless claims: Another 198,000 individuals filed new claims last week

Alexandra Semenova · Reporter
Thu, December 30, 2021, 8:31 AM · 2 min read

First-time unemployment filings fell further from last week's reading, again below pre-pandemic lows, signaling continued recovery in the labor market as high demand for workers pours into the new year.

The Labor Department released its latest report on initial and continuing claims on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Here were the main metrics from the print, compared to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:

-- Initial jobless claims, week ended Dec. 25: 198,000 vs. 206,000 expected and 205,000 during prior week

-- Continuing claims, week ended Dec. 18: 1.716 million vs. 1.875 million expected and 1.859 million during prior week

First-time filings for unemployment continued to hover below the 2019 average of 218,000, when the unemployment rate was at a half-century low of 3.5%, according to Bloomberg data. The current unemployment rate is also expected to edge down to 4.1% in December as the labor market continues to tighten.

{snip an interactive chart}

At 205,000, last week's initial unemployment claims were on par with economist forecasts and below pre-pandemic levels yet again. Earlier in December, jobless claims fell sharply to 188,000, or the lowest level since 1969. The prints serve an early indication of the relative strength expected to show in December's jobs report, though the economic impact of the virus remains unclear.

"Fortunately, there's no evidence in this data of a new wave of fresh job loss," Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick said, commenting on last week's figures. "New claims are only slightly above the lowest point in decades notched a couple of weeks ago."

{snip}

Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/weekly-unemployment-claims-week-ended-dec-25-2021-194905705.html

---

Here come the complaints.

-- -- -- -- -- --

It looks as if Emily McCormick is taking some time off this week. Here are this morning's banner and yesterday afternoon's article anticipating today's news.

COMING UP Jobless claims preview: Another 206,000 likely filed new claims last week
Check back for results at 8:30 a.m. ET

-- -- -- -- -- --

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/weekly-unemployment-claims-week-ended-dec-25-2021-194905705.html

Yahoo Finance
Jobless claims preview: Another 207,000 likely filed new claims last week

Alexandra Semenova·Reporter
Wed, December 29, 2021, 2:49 PM · 2 min read

First-time unemployment filings are expected to tick up slightly from last week's reading but remain near pre-pandemic lows, signaling continued recovery in the labor market as high demand for workers pours into the new year.

The Labor Department is scheduled to report the latest in initial and continuing claims on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Here are expectations for the prints, according to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:

-- Initial jobless claims, week ended Dec. 25: 207,000 expected vs. 205,000 during prior week

-- Continuing claims, week ended Dec. 18: 1.875 million vs. 1.859 million during prior week

Analysts predict first-time filings for unemployment insurance will continue to hover below the 2019 average of 218,000, when the unemployment rate was at a half-century low of 3.5%, according to Bloomberg data. The current unemployment rate is also expected to edge down to 4.1% in December as the labor market continues to tighten.

At 205,000, last week's initial unemployment claims were on par with economist forecasts and below pre-pandemic levels yet again. Earlier in December, jobless claims fell sharply to 188,000, or the lowest level since 1969. The prints serve an early indication of the relative strength expected to show in December's jobs report, though the economic impact of the virus remains unclear.


"Fortunately, there's no evidence in this data of a new wave of fresh job loss," Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick said, commenting on last week's figures. "New claims are only slightly above the lowest point in decades notched a couple of weeks ago."

"With so much uncertainty now and the high level of concern about the Omicron variant, we'll take stability when we can get it," Hamrick added.

Earlier this month, JPMorgan chief U.S. economist Michael Feroli predicted the unemployment rate could fall to around 3%.

"It's stunning to see how much the rate has fallen in the last five months," he told Yahoo Finance Live. "We expect that pace of decline to slow, but it doesn't take much to get below 4%, even with a tick up in the labor participation rate, which has been depressed over the last year and a half."

{snip}

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. From the source:

https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf

News Release

Connect with DOL at
https://blog.dol.gov

TRANSMISSION OF MATERIALS IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL
8:30 A.M. (Eastern) Thursday, December 30, 2021

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending December 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 198,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 205,000 to 206,000. The 4-week moving average was 199,250, a decrease of 7,250 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since October 25, 1969 when it was 199,250. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 206,250 to 206,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.3 percent for the week ending December 18, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending December 18 was 1,716,000, a decrease of 140,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for insured unemployment since March 7, 2020 when it was 1,715,000. The previous week's level was revised down by 3,000 from 1,859,000 to 1,856,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,859,500, a decrease of 59,500 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020 when it was 1,730,750. The previous week's average was revised down by 750 from 1,919,750 to 1,919,000.

{snip}

UNADJUSTED DATA

{snip}

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending December 11 was 2,177,355, an increase of 39,363 from the previous week. There were 20,492,081 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2020.

{snip the rest of the twelve-page news release, until the end}

Weekly Claims Archives
Weekly Claims Data

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The Department's Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts Departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the Department at [phone] (voice) or [phone] (federal relay).

U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
Washington, D.C. 20210
Release Number: USDL 21-2215-NAT

Program Contacts:
Thomas Stengle: [phone]
Media Contact: [phone]

[RussBLib]

2. Biden sure is "destroying" the economy

so say the brain-dead hypnotized Foxbots and T****-worshippers.

Talk about out of touch.

[Midnight Writer]

3. What is with the use of the word "another" in that headline?

It is unnecessary and would lead the uninformed reader to assume that the number is relatively high, as in "another victim of fraud reported", which would lead a reader to believe there is an escalation of fraud.

Incidentally, just watched a discussion on CNBC in which all agreed that Democrats are too friendly to labor and that hurts business. Their preferred solution to a tight labor market? Why, elect more Republicans in November, of course. GOP control of Congress would "level" the field to give business a much needed break.

As if big business needs another break.

[RandPaulsNeighbor]

5. I was just going to say

This fucking bull shit headline keeps getting posted. It is beyond misleading. It should say record or historically low number of new claims. But, here we go with another propaganda hit job from the "liberal" media.

I am tired of seeing this hit job every week.

[Johnny2X2X]

4. Near record lows

This is the best job market in our nation’s history. About time people start calling it that.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

6. Latest jobless claims numbers are near 50-year low

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/latest-jobless-claims-numbers-are-near-50-year-low/ar-AAShcZ4

But businesses can't find those who'll work for shit wages.

[brush]

7. Title should say jobless claims "fall by..." instead of "Another 198k file..."

It sounds like a republican talking point inferring that claims went up instead of actually going down.