US Unemployment Claims at 220,000... Below Forecast

Continued Unemployment Claims 1.874 Million 'Below Expectations'

Last week, the number of new unemployment benefit claims in the United States came in below market expectations.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor on the 19th (local time), the number of new unemployment benefit claims for the week of December 8-14 was recorded at 220,000, down 22,000 from the revised figure of 242,000 for the previous week. The expert forecast of 229,000 was also missed by 9,000 claims.

The number of continuing unemployment benefit claims, which counts those claiming benefits for at least two consecutive weeks, stood at 1,874,000 for the week of December 1-7, down 5,000 from the revised figure of 1,879,000 for the previous week. The market estimate of 1,890,000 was missed by 16,000 claims.

Weekly unemployment benefit claims in the U.S. surged earlier this month but decreased last week. Due to the year-end holidays, there tends to be increased volatility in unemployment benefit claim numbers.

With the Federal Reserve (Fed) announcing the day before that it would slow the pace of interest rate cuts, the market is paying close attention to U.S. employment trends.