–Unadjusted Claims -99,225; Claims On Their Way To ‘Relative Maximum’
–4-Week Moving Average -5,250 To 422,750, Low Since Aug. 2, 2008 Week

By Brai Odion-Esene and Ian McKendry

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment
benefits fell 3,000 to 420,000 in the December 11 week, coming in
exactly as expected, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.

A Labor Department analyst said that seasonal factors expected
unadjusted claims to decline by 16.3%, or about 95,000 claims in the
last week. According to the analyst, unadjusted claims “are on their way
to a relative maximum for the entire year — which is almost always the
second week in January,” meaning there claims will keep building up and
peak in the second week of January.

“This is one of the few weeks where we see a big decrease on this
path to this relative maximum,” he said.

Unadjusted claims fell close down expectations, down 16.9%, or
99,225 claims, to 486,284, resulting in the decline in the seasonally
adjusted claims level. Unadjusted claims were at a level of 555,383 in
the comparable week a year ago.

The analyst said no states were estimated in the current week’s
claims data.

Economists surveyed by Market News International had expected
initial claims to fall to 420,000 in the current week, from the 421,000
level originally reported in the previous week. The November 27 week’s
level was unrevised at 438,000.

With this week’s decrease in seasonally adjusted initial claims,
the seasonally adjusted 4-week moving average fell by 5,250 to 422,750
in the December 11 week. This is the sixth consecutive weekly decline,
with the four-week average now the lowest since the August 2, 2008 week.

In the December 4 post-holiday week, continuing claims rose by
22,000 to 4,135,000. Unadjusted continuing claims declined by 183,602 to
4,031,909 in the December 4 week, still well below the 5,192,075 level a
year earlier.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at
3.3% in the December 4 week. The current rate is down sharply from 4.0%
in the comparable rate a year earlier and is the lowest level since the
December 13, 2008 week, when it was also 3.3%.

The unemployment rate among the insured labor force is well below
that reported monthly by the Labor Department because claims are
approved for the most part only for job losers, not the job leavers and
labor force reentrants included in the monthly report.

The Labor Department said that the level of unadjusted Emergency
Unemployment Compensation benefits claims rose by 142,931 in the
November 27 week, bringing that category to 3,854,067. Extended benefits
claims rose 181,606 to 977,339 not seasonally adjusted.

The Labor Department reported that a total of 9,191,897 persons
claimed unemployment benefits in the November 27 week, up by 893,959
from the 8,297,938 claims reported in the previous week and well below
the 10,295,622 persons in the comparable week a year ago. These data are
not seasonally adjusted, and include regular state claims, federal
employee claims, new veterans claims, the EUC and extended benefits
programs, state additional benefits, and STC/Workshare claims.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

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