US initial jobless claims 205K versus 215K estimate

Claims rose to 205,000 from an estimate of 215,000, up from last week’s estimate of 204,000. The four-week average is up to 215,500 from last week’s estimate of 214,250. The number of people who applied for initial unemployment insurance benefits rose to 1.687 million from 1.694 million last week. The four-week moving average of claims is up to 1.679 million from last week’s estimate of 1.688 million. Initial claims rose in New Jersey by 4,514, in Michigan by 3,322, in New York by 3,169, in Massachusetts by 2,670, and in Pennsylvania by 2,401. In the week ending December 31, the biggest decreases were in Kentucky by 3,808, in Illinois by 3,439, in Texas by 3,252, in Missouri by 2,882, and in Minnesota by 880. The current level of claims is 1.679 million, down from last week’s estimate of 1.688 million. It is down from last week’s estimate of 1.688 million, as well as from last week’s estimate of 1.688 million.