Initial jobless claims in the United States in the week ending December 24 advanced to 225,000, a growth of 9,000 from the previous week’s level of 216,000, the Department of Labor said on Thursday. The 4-week moving average was 221,000, a decrease of 250 from the previous week’s revised average.
The insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending December 17, unchanged from the week before. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment was 1,710,000, an increase of 41,000 from the previous week. The 4-week moving average was 1,679,500, a growth of 25,250 from the previous week’s revised average.