Overview
- Initial claims fell by 16,000 to 199,000 for the week ended Dec. 27, below forecasts, and the Labor Department released the report a day early because of New Year’s Day.
- Continuing claims, a proxy for ongoing benefit recipients, declined by about 47,000 to 1.866 million for the week ended Dec. 20.
- The four‑week average held near 218,750, underscoring that holiday scheduling and earlier data disruptions make single‑week readings noisy.
- Economists describe a “no hire, no fire” labor market with slower hiring, and the unemployment rate stood at 4.6% in November after federal‑workforce shifts and measurement issues.
- The Federal Reserve cut rates by 25 basis points this month to a 3.50%–3.75% range, and Chair Jerome Powell warned recent jobs figures may be overstated as markets look to the December payrolls on Jan. 9.