First-time claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased in the week ended December 5th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, although claims remained well below the key 500,000 level.
The report showed that initial jobless claims rose to 474,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 457,000. The modest increase came as a surprise to economists, who had been expecting jobless claims to edge down to 455,000.
With the increase, jobless claims moved back to the upside after hitting their lowest level in over a year in the previous week.
At the same time, the Labor Department said that the less volatile four-week moving average fell to 473,750 from the previous week's revised average of 481,500.
Peter Boockvar, equity strategist for Miller Tabak, said, "While initial claims were above expectations, they are below 500k for a 3rd month and confirm the slowdown in firings."
The report also showed a decrease in continuing claims, which measure the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment help. Continuing claims fell to 5.157 million in the week ended November 28th from the preceding week's revised level of 5.460 million.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department also said that the number of people claiming emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) benefits in the week ended November 21st increased by about 327,000 to 4.179 million.
Those receiving extended benefits fell by about 190,000, although Boockvar noted that it is unclear whether the drop was due to an exhaustion of benefits or because a job was found.
Last Friday, the Labor Department released a report showing that employment was nearly unchanged in the month of November, with the dramatic slowdown in the pace of job losses generating some optimism about the outlook for the labor market.
The report showed that non-farm payrolls edged down by 11,000 in November, while most economists had expected a decline of at least 100,000. The unemployment rate also unexpectedly dipped to 10.0 percent, encouraging hope that the labor market is starting to stabilize.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.