Last week, the US saw a decline in weekly application volume for unemployment insurance, while the level of continuing claims reached a three-year peak, the Department of Labor revealed on Wednesday. For the week ending Nov. 23, the seasonally adjusted number of initial claims fell by 2,000 to a total of 213,000, marking the lowest figure since late April, according to government data.
Analysts had anticipated a level of around 215,000 based on a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The prior week's number was also adjusted upward by 2,000, setting it at 215,000. The four-week moving average for initial claims registered at 217,000, which is a decrease of 1,250 from the previously revised average that was adjusted upwards by 500.
When looking at weekly unadjusted claims, there was a notable increase of 29,101, bringing the total to 243,389. With initial claims showing this decline, Jefferies US Economist Thomas Simons noted a lack of "strong evidence" pointing to a resurgence of layoffs. He indicated that the sustained numbers of continuing claims imply a further deceleration in hiring activities. As for seasonally adjusted continuing claims, they reached 1.91 million for the week ending Nov.
16, retaining their highest level since Nov. 13, 2021, and surpassing the Bloomberg consensus which had projected 1.89 million. Simons commented, "Continuing claims have been choppy recently due to distortions resulting from major hurricanes in the South during September. However, as time progresses from those storms, the persistence of continuing claims cannot be overlooked." There was an uptick of 9,000 continuing claims from the previous week’s figures, which itself had been revised down by 10,000.
The four-week moving average subsequently reached 1.89 million, marking its highest point since Nov. 27, 2021, an increase of 13,500 from the earlier downwardly revised average, as indicated by the Department of Labor. The most significant reductions in initial claims for the week ending Nov. 16 were reported in California, which saw a decline of 5,088, followed by Georgia and New Jersey.
Conversely, states such as Utah, Minnesota, and Missouri experienced increases in initial claims during this period..