U.S. unemployment claims plummet

In the week ending Dec. 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims in the U.S. was 452,000, a decrease of 28,000 from the previous week’s unrevised figure. The four-week moving average was 465,250, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.9 percent for the week ending Dec. 12, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Dec. 12 was 5.076 million, a decrease of 127,000 from the preceding week’s revised level. The four-week moving average was 5.233 million, a decrease of 90,000 from the preceding week’s revised average.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.673 million.