Weekly first time unemployment filings fall to 220,000

Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The number of people filing for initial unemployment benefits last week fell 22,000 from the previous seven-day period to a seasonally adjusted 220,000, the Labor Department said.

The application filings, watched by the Federal Reserve as a snapshot on workforce stability, saw 242,000 apply before jobless insurance for the first time for the week ending Dec. 7. It was the first time in three weeks first-time weekly filings had dropped in the survey.

The first-time filings are 40,000 fewer than the 2024 high of 260,000 for the week ending Oct. 5, but the level has not come with 18,000 of that total since.

The four-week moving average of first-time unemployment benefit filings ending last week was 225,500, an increase of 1,250 from the previous week's average of 224,250.

The seasonally adjusted total of everyone filing for weekly unemployment benefits for the week ending Dec. 7 was 1.874 million, the Labor Department said. That is a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's 1.879 million.

The four-week moving average of overall jobless benefit filings was 1,880,250, a drop of 6,000 from last week's total of 1,886,250.