New Jobless Unemployment Claims Jump 23,000

United States Of America – The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims increased by 23 thousand from the previous week to 230 thousand, exceeding market expectations of 200 thousand, as a surge in coronavirus cases led by the Omicron variant disrupted activity ranging from airlines to schools.

Still, claims remained below pre-pandemic levels, indicating that labor market conditions tightened further as the US economy expanded at a healthy pace and labor demand remained strong.

During the first week of December, claims fell to a 52-year low of 188 thousand.

Initial claims increased by 104 thousand to 419 thousand on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, with notable increases in California (12.8 thousand), New York (10.8 thousand), Texas (9.4 thousand), Kentucky (8.5 thousand), and Missouri (7.3 thousand).