Jobless claims jump to two-month high in a cautionary sign, but holidays may be to blame
2024-12-12
Category: economic

By Greg Robb
Initial claims rise 17,000 to 242,000
The numbers: Initial jobless claims rose by 17,000 to 242,000 in the week that ended Dec. 7, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the highest level since mid-October.
Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had estimated new claims would fall by 4,000 to 220,000.
Last week claims rose a revised 10,000 to total 225,000, versus the initial estimate of an increase of 9,000 to 224,000.
The four-week moving average rose by 5,750 to 224,000 in the latest week.
Key details: The number of new claims based on actual filings - that is, before seasonal adjustments - jumped by 310,366 to  in the latest week.
The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits in the week of Nov. 30 rose by 15,000 to 1.89 million, the government said.
Big picture: Claims are particularly volatile around the holidays due to seasonal adjustment.
Still, the labor market did show some signs of softening last month, with the unemployment rate rising to 4.2% in November.
Many economists think that uptick gives the Federal Reserve the green light to cut interest rates again at its meeting next week.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell was upbeat about the health of the labor market in an interview with the New York Times last week.
Market reaction: Stocks DJIA SPX were set to open lower on Thursday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note BX:TMUBMUSD10Yrose to 4.29%.
-Greg Robb
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