Jobless claims drop to 8-month low to end 2024. Low U.S. unemployment fuels economy.
Source: MarketWatch
Last Updated: Jan. 2, 2025 at 9:15 a.m. ET
First Published: Jan. 2, 2025 at 8:36 a.m. ET
The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits after Christmas fell to an eight-month low, capping off a year of remarkably low layoffs in a surprising resilient U.S. economy.
New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, dropped by 9,000 to 211,000 in the final week of 2024, the government said Thursday. By comparison, new jobless claims in the same in final week of 2023 were similarly low at 198,000.
New jobless claims have hovered in the low 200,000s for the last three years. Most businesses have had strong-enough sales to retain all their employees and only use layoffs as a last resort in light of steady economic growth.
One big caveat about jobless claims: The government’s seasonal adjustments during the holiday season that starts at Thanksgiving are less accurate than usual. Sometimes the adjustments exaggerate the shift in jobless claims.
Read more: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-drop-to-8-month-low-to-end-2024-low-u-s-unemployment-fuels-economy-ba92fdb1
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Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims
Initial claims were 211,000 for the week ending 12/28 (-9,000).
Insured unemployment was 1,844,000 for the week ending 12/21 (-52,000).
https://dol.gov/ui/data.pdf
Graphic image featuring the text 'Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims' on a solid blue background, with the website 'dol.gov' displayed at the bottom.
8:31 AM · Jan 2, 2025
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