From the FXWW Chatroom: Initial unemployment claims +10k to 247k in Jan 7 week vs
260k expected. Seasonal adjustment is difficult around the holidays,
even ones such as New Year’s that are consistent. Unadjusted claims
+59,308 vs +42,665 expected. The first week of the year usually produces
a large unadjusted spike in claims, with declines in the following two
weeks. Virginia claims were estimated by the state itself due to
weather issues. There were no special factors cited by Labor. The 4-week
moving average fell by 1,750 to 256,500 and would fall by 7,000 next
week if the headline number is unchanged. Continuing claims -29,000 to
2.087m in Dec 31 week. Both unadjusted initial claims and unadjusted
continuing claims remain well below their year-ago levels.
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