EmailThe initial claims report edged lower, falling from 387,000 for the week ending December 24 to 372,000 for the week ending December 31. The Briefing.com consensus expected the initial claims level to fall to 375,000.
The DOL reported that there were no special factors surrounding the drop in claims. For the past several weeks, the initial claims level has shown substantial improvement in the labor sector.
Combined with the strong ADP December report -- up 325,000 in December vs. 180,000 consensus --there is a strong likelihood that nonfarm payrolls topped the 150,000 increase expected by the consensus. The continuing claims level declined from 3.617 million for the week ending December 17 to 3.595 mln for the week ending December 24. The consensus expected the continuing claims level to increase to 3.620 million.
