Number of Americans submitting initial unemployment claims climbed last week

According to the Labor Department, new state unemployment benefits claims increased by 12,000 last week to 218,000. According to Reuter’s survey, experts predicted an increase in initial claims to 210,000 for the week ending December 23.

The number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits climbed last week, indicating that the labor market will remain sluggish in the fourth quarter.

The number of people getting benefits after one week of assistance increased by 14,000 from the previous week, reaching 1.875 million. Continued jobless claims, a metric of hiring, have risen since mid-September, indicating that those who are currently unemployed may be having difficulty finding work.

According to the Labor Department's non-farm payrolls report, 199,000 new jobs were created in November, up from 150,000 in October. The unemployment rate also declined slightly from the previous month to 3.7% from 3.9%.

The Federal Reserve has left its benchmark interest rate constant for three consecutive policy sessions, despite slower job growth and moderate inflation, and economists expect its hiking campaign to come to an end.

Since March 2022, the Fed has raised its policy rate by 525 basis points, to the current range of 5.25%–5.50%.

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