22.01.202613:47:00UTC+00U.S. Jobless Claims Inch Up Less Than Expected To 200,000

The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a slight uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended January 17th.

The report said initial jobless claims crept up to 200,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level of 199,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 205,000 from the 198,000 originally reported for the previous month.

"Looking through the seasonal volatility of the last several weeks, initial jobless claims are clearly trending lower, suggesting some improvement in labor market conditions," said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

"A wave of layoff announcements in the fall never translated into a significant increase in initial jobless claims," she added. "Notifications by employers of pending layoffs were down sharply as of December after a jump in October, suggesting initial claims will remain subdued."

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average slipped to 201,500, a decrease of 3,750 from the previous week's revised average of 205,250.

With the dip, the four-week moving average dropped to its lowest level since hitting 200,000 in the week ended January 13, 2024.

Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also slid by 26,000 to 1.849 million in the week ended January 10th.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims also fell to 1,870,750, a decrease of 16,250 from the previous week's revised average of 1,887,000.

"While hiring remains at depressed levels, the decline in continued claims at least suggests employers aren't pulling back further," said Vanden Houten.