U.S. unemployment claims rise

In the week ending Dec. 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims n the U.S. was 474,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week’s unrevised figure. The four-week moving average was 473,750, a decrease of 7,750 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.9 percent for the week ending Nov. 28, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week’s unrevised rate.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Nov. 28 was 5.157 million, a decrease of 303,000 from the preceding week’s revised level. The four-week moving average was approximately 5.417 million, a decrease of 123,500 from the preceding week’s revised average.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.767 million.