Weekly Jobless Claims Post Unexpected Decline Into Year-End, US Data Shows

10:26 AM EST, 12/31/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Weekly applications for unemployment insurance unexpectedly declined into the final part of 2025, while continuing claims fell more than projected, US government data showed Wednesday.

For the week through Dec. 27, the seasonally adjusted number of initial claims fell by 16,000 to 199,000, the Department of Labor said. The consensus was for the print to increase to 218,000 in a Bloomberg poll. Last week's reading was revised upwards by 1,000 to 215,000.

The four-week moving average totaled 218,750, rising by 1,750 from the prior week's average that was revised upwards by 250. Unadjusted claims advanced by 5,333 to 269,953 on a weekly basis, according to the data.

Seasonally adjusted continuing claims came in at 1.87 million for the week ended Dec. 20, trailing Wall Street's views for 1.9 million. Continuing claims dropped by 47,000 from the previous week's level, which was revised down by 10,000. The four-week moving average declined by 17,750 to 1.87 million from the prior week's average that was revised down by 2,500, according to the DOL.

On Tuesday, minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting earlier in December showed that officials appeared to be markedly divided over the potential monetary policy path ahead amid continued concerns about high inflation and labor market weakness.

At the Dec. 9-10 meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee delivered a third straight 25-basis-point interest rate cut amid ongoing concerns about the health of the labor market.

Earlier this month, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said the FOMC can afford to ease monetary policy further amid continued concerns regarding the labor market.

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