The number of initial jobless claims in the US last week reached 214,000, lower than the forecast of 223,500.
Updated US labor market data on December 24th showed that initial claims for unemployment benefits fell short of estimates, while the number of people continuing to receive benefits in the week ending December 13th was higher than forecast.
- Initial unemployment benefit applications: 214,000 vs forecast of 223,500.
- Application continues to receive benefits: $1,923,000 vs. forecast of $1,900,000.
- Data released on December 24th; the single reference week continues to end on December 13th.
Trends in unemployment benefit applications
Last week, the number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits was 214,000, lower than the estimated 223,500.
This figure reflects a lower-than-expected number of new applications for the week in question. The difference from the forecast is 9,500 applications, indicating that the pace of new applications did not increase as the market predicted at the time of the release on December 24th.
Number of people continuing to receive benefits and a comparison with forecasts.
In the week ending December 13, the number of Americans continuing to file for unemployment benefits was 1,923,000, higher than the forecast of 1,900,000.
Compared to estimates, the actual number was 23,000 applications higher. The fact that the number of applications continued to exceed expectations suggests that the number of people still receiving benefits has not decreased as predicted, even though the number of first-time applications in the previous week was lower than estimated.
