Weekly Jobless Claims Top Estimates but Keep the Streak Alive

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By Chris Lange Published

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The 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

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics. Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications. A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.

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