For the second week in a row, first-time claims for unemployment benefits came in far below consensus in the week ending Jan. 3, yet the number of people continuing to receive benefits was once again much higher than anticipated. The figures are probably skewed by the New Year's holiday, just as the prior week was dismissed as a holiday blip.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits in the United States fell to 467k in the week, following 491k claims in the prior week. This is the lowest number of claims since Oct. 10.
Prior to the holiday period, the number of initial jobless claims had hit a 16-year high of 589k in the week ending Dec. 20, which was the seventh straight week above the half-a-million mark.
Initial jobless claims were forecast to resume their upward trend to 545k.
The four-week moving average for initial claims also took a dip, falling to 525,750, down from 552,750 in the prior report.
Meanwhile, continuing claims rose markedly to 4.611 million in the week ending Dec. 27, higher than the consensus forecast for a reading of 4.483 million. This marks the seventh week that continuing claims have been above the four million mark, which is putting the figure closer to the all-time high of 4.713 million recorded in November 1982.
By Patrick McGee and edited by Nancy Girgis
©CEP News Ltd. 2009