Jobless Claims Fall To A 52-Year Low

Jobless claims surprised economists by falling to a 52-year low, according to the latest data from the Department of Labor…(DOL)

  • Initial claims were 198,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised level. 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.
  • Economists had predicted initial claims would increase to 206,000.

Continuing claims also defied economist predictions for the week ending December 18th…

  • Continuing claims were 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.
  • Economists had projected continuing claims would increase to 1.86M.

NOTE: California led the week-over-week decline in both categories with a drop of 6,000 initial claims and a 60,000 continuing claims.

Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial, said even though Omicron could be a short-term problem, the labor market is strong…(CNBC)

  • “Initial claims are extremely low, and continued claims are low and steadily declining. Demand for labor is very strong and workers are in short supply, so businesses are not laying off employees. Those workers who do find themselves unemployed can quickly find new jobs,”