Initial jobless claims held steady for another week, according to the latest data from the Department of Labor.
- The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 202,000 for the week ending January 6th, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level and holding at the same level for the last 5 weeks.
- Economists were projecting an increase to 120k.
Continuing Claims. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment fell to 1.83M for the week ending December 30th, a decrease of 34,000 from the previous week’s revised level and the lowest level since the end of October.
BOTTOM LINE: The labor market continues to show signs of a significant cool down.