U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Extend Rebound

(RTTNews) - After reporting a rebound by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the previous week, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing initial jobless claims saw further upside in the week ended January 18th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 223,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 217,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 220,000.

With the increase, jobless claims continued to regain ground after hitting a nearly eleven-month low in the week ended January 4th.

"A rise in claims in California that may reflect the recent fires contributed to an increase in initial jobless claims in the week ended January 18, but claims remain at levels consistent with relatively few layoffs," said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also crept up to 213,500, an increase of 750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 212,750.

Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also climbed by 46,000 to 1.899 million in the week ended January 11th, reaching the highest level since November 2021.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims also edged up to 1,865,750, an increase of 500 from the previous week's revised average of 1,865,250.

"The level of continued claims, despite low layoffs, is consistent with other labor market metrics, such as a low pace of hiring, and shows that it is somewhat difficult for those who do lose their jobs to find new work," said Vanden Houten.