The
data from the Labor Department revealed on Thursday the number of applications
for unemployment increased less than forecast last week but held near
pandemic-era levels.
According
to the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 28,000 to 222,000
for the week ended November 27.
Economists
had expected 260,000 new claims last week.
Claims for the prior week
were revised downwardly to 194,000 from the initial estimate of 199,000. That was the lowest weekly total since November 1969.
Meanwhile,
the four-week moving average of jobless claims decreased to 238,750 from a downwardly
revised 251,000 (from 252,250) in the previous week. This was the lowest figure since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis in March last year.
As
for continuing claims, they dropped to 1,956,000 from an upwardly revised
2,063,000 (from 2,049,000) in the previous week. This was also the lowest
number since mid-March 2020.