Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

U.S. Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Drop to Lowest in Seven Months

Published 06/12/2019, 12:30 am
Updated 06/12/2019, 12:36 am
© Reuters.  U.S. Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Drop to Lowest in Seven Months

© Reuters. U.S. Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Drop to Lowest in Seven Months

(Bloomberg) -- Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to the lowest level since April, signaling resilience in the labor market ahead of Friday’s jobs report.

Jobless claims fell by 10,000 to 203,000 in the week ended Nov. 30, according to Labor Department figures released Thursday that were below all estimates in Bloomberg's survey of economists. The four-week average, a less-volatile measure, decreased to 217,750.

Key Insights


  • The decline in claims to near a half-century low underscores the tightness in the labor market despite manufacturing weakness, soft global growth and slower business investment. That suggests consumer spending should continue to hold up and support the broader expansion.

  • The latest data come with important caveats, though. Last week included Thanksgiving, and the claims figures tend to be more volatile around the year-end holidays. In addition, the seasonal adjustment for Thanksgiving may have been even trickier than usual because the holiday came so late in the month, compared with about a week earlier in 2018.

  • The sign of strength precedes the Labor Department’s November jobs report, which is projected to show that hiring is holding up at a more moderate pace than last year while the jobless rate remained close to a half-century low. At the same time, a private report this week showed companies added 67,000 jobs in November, the fewest in six months.

Get More


  • Continuing claims, reported with a one-week lag, rose 51,000 to 1.693 million in the week ended Nov. 23.

  • The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits rose to 1.2% from 1.1%.

  • Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast that claims would edge up to 215,000.

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.