U.S. Jobless Claims Fall to 201,000, Insured Unemployment Rises

For the week ending January 4, seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims were reported at 201,000, reflecting a decline of 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 211,000. 

For the week ending January 4, seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims were reported at 201,000, reflecting a decline of 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 211,000. The 4-week moving average of initial claims dropped by 10,250, reaching 213,000, compared to the prior week's revised average of 223,250.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate for the week ending December 28 remained unchanged at 1.2%, consistent with the prior week's unrevised rate. The number of seasonally adjusted insured unemployed individuals for the same period increased by 33,000, rising to 1,867,000 from the previous week's revised level. The prior week's figure was revised downward by 10,000, from 1,844,000 to 1,834,000.

Additionally, the 4-week moving average of insured unemployment decreased by 3,000, settling at 1,865,500. This represents a slight improvement from the previous week's revised average of 1,868,500, which had also been revised down by 2,250 from an earlier estimate of 1,870,750.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor