Weekly Jobless Claims Drop More Than Expected, Continuing Applications Increase

12:39 PM EST, 12/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US fell more than projected, while continuing claims rose, government data showed Thursday.

For the week through Dec. 13, the seasonally adjusted number of initial claims dropped by 13,000 to 224,000, the Department of Labor said. The consensus was for a 225,000 print in a Bloomberg poll. The previous week's reading was revised up by 1,000 to 237,000.

The four-week moving average totaled 217,500, rising by 500 from the prior week's average that was revised upwards by 250. Unadjusted claims fell by 19% on a weekly basis to 255,012, according to official data.

"Initial jobless claims data continue to be influenced by seasonal volatility, but the level of claims is consistent with relatively steady labor market conditions," Oxford Economics Lead US Economist Nancy Vanden Houten said in remarks e-mailed to MT Newswires.

Seasonally adjusted continuing claims came in at around 1.9 million for the week ended Dec. 6, below Wall Street's views for 1.92 million. Continuing claims jumped by 67,000 from the previous week's level, which was revised down by 8,000. The four-week moving average declined by 14,000 to 1.9 million from the prior week's downwardly revised average, according to the DOL.

"Continued claims, which aren't immune to seasonal volatility, remain at a level consistent with a slow pace of hiring," Vanden Houten said.

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said policymakers can afford to lower their benchmark lending rate further amid continued concerns regarding the labor market.

Earlier in the week, delayed government data showed that job growth in the US rebounded in November after payrolls declined in October, while the unemployment rate shot up to 4.6% last month, the highest level in more than four years.

Last week, the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee reduced interest rates by 25 basis points, marking a third straight cut of that size amid ongoing job market worries.

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