Jobs

Weekly Jobless Claims Top Estimates but Keep the Streak Alive

179125086The U.S. Department of Labor has released the latest report on weekly jobless claims. Initial claims came in at 294,000, compared to both the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg consensus estimates of 290,000. The previous reading remained unrevised to 298,000 claims.

The four-week moving average came in at 290,500, which dropped only 250 from the previous reading of 290,750 claims. The number of claims fell below the 300,000 level in late July and has consistently remained there since. This is the longest that the four-week moving average has remained below the 300,000 level since 2000.

The Labor Department said that no special factors had an impact on this past week’s reported initial jobless claims.

Continuing claims, which are reported with a one-week lag, increased by 101,000 to 2.5 million for the week that ended December 27.

In the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report, job creation is seemingly on the right track for recording its best year since 1999.

ALSO READ: What to Expect From Labor Department’s Unemployment and Payrolls This Week

Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With An Advisor Now (Sponsored)

Are you ready for retirement? Planning for retirement can be overwhelming, that’s why it could be a good idea to speak to a fiduciary financial advisor about your goals today.

Start by taking this retirement quiz right here from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes. Smart Asset is now matching over 50,000 people a month.

Click here now to get started.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.