U.S. unemployment claims plummet

In the week ending Dec. 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims in the U.S. was 432,000, a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week’s revised figure. The four-week moving average was 460,250, a decrease of 5,500 from the previous week’s revised average.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.8 percent for the week ending Dec. 19, unchanged from the prior week’s revised rate.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Dec. 19 was 4.981 million, a decrease of 57,000 from the preceding week’s revised level. The four-week moving average was 5.101 million, a decrease of 122,250 from the preceding week’s revised average.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.621 million.