U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Edge Lower Once Again

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower in the week ended November 23rd.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dipped to 213,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level of 215,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 217,000 from the 213,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With the slight decrease from the previous week's upwardly revised figure, jobless claims were once again at their lowest level since hitting 209,000 in the week ended April 27th.

"After being boosted by the Boeing strike and Hurricanes Helene and Milton in early October, initial claims have stabilized over the last several weeks at levels consistent with a limited pace of layoffs," said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

She added, "However, even on an unadjusted basis, we should brace for noise in the claims data over the next several weeks; claims are more volatile around the holidays and in the winter months due to seasonal hiring and layoffs."

The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 217,000, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average of 218,250.

Meanwhile, the report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, rose by 9,000 to 1.907 million in the week ended November 16th.

The increase lifted continuing claims to their highest level since reaching 1.974 million in the week ended November 13, 2021.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims also reached a nearly three-year high, climbing by 13,500 to 1.890,250.

"Continued claims remain elevated in Washington, hardest hit by the Boeing strike, North Carolina, which was hit hard by Helene and Michigan and Ohio, where many autoworkers have been laid off," said Vanden Houten.