The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell to a more than three-year low last week, allaying fears of a sharp deterioration in labor market conditions after independent surveys showed job losses in November.
Difficulties adjusting the weekly jobless claims data around the Thanksgiving holiday could have accounted for some of the unexpected decline reported by the Labor Department on Thursday. Still, economists said the weekly unemployment claims report, the most timely data on the economy's health, was consistent with a labor market that remained in a holding pattern.
The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell to a more than three-year low last week, allaying fears of a sharp deterioration in labor market conditions after independent surveys showed job losses in November.
Difficulties adjusting the weekly jobless claims data around the Thanksgiving holiday could have accounted for some of the unexpected decline reported by the Labor Department on Thursday. Still, economists said the weekly unemployment claims report, the most timely data on the economy's health, was consistent with a labor market that remained in a holding pattern.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 191,000 for the week ended November 29, the lowest level since September 2022. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 220,000 claims for the latest week.
Claims tend to be volatile around holidays, like last Thursday's Thanksgiving Day, a trend that could persist as the year winds down. Economists at Goldman Sachs noted that the seasonal factor, the model used by the government to strip out seasonal fluctuations from the data, expected a much smaller decline in non-seasonally adjusted claims than in previous years with similar calendar configurations.
Unadjusted claims plunged 49,419 to 197,221 last week. The decline was more than double the 21,172 drop that had been anticipated by the seasonal factor. Filings tumbled 19,551 in California and decreased 8,349 in Texas. There were sizeable drops in applications in New York, Washington state and Florida.
Source: Reuters