US jobless claims rise in November
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The news: US jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week, with initial claims increasing 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 242,000 for the week ending 7 December, the Labor Department said.
The numbers: This figure exceeded economists’ expectations of 220,000 and marks a two-month high.
Continuing claims, a proxy for ongoing unemployment, climbed by 15,000 to 1.886 million in the week ending 30 November, nearing a three-year high.
California, Texas and New York saw the largest increases in claims.
The context: Economists attributed the rise in initial claims to seasonal volatility around Thanksgiving rather than a fundamental labour market shift.
However, there are some signs of a cooling labour market, including the jobless rate ticking up to 4.2% in November and the median duration of unemployment rising to 10.5 weeks, the highest in nearly three years.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates next week, supported by the labour market trends despite ongoing challenges in reducing inflation to its 2% target.
What they said: “The jump in initial jobless claims probably reflects some seasonal volatility related to the timing of Thanksgiving, rather than a fundamental deterioration,” Pantheon Macroeconomics said in a note.
The sources: Department of Labor , Bloomberg , Reuters
