U.S. Initial Jobless and Continuing Claims Rises Above Expectations

U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending December 5 was 853,000, up 137,000 from the previous week and above expected 725,000, according to the Department of Labor press release. Continuing claims were 5.76 million, up from the expected 5.21 million. 

• Prior initial jobless claims were revised up by 4,000 from 712,000 to 716,000 
• Prior continuing claims revised up 7,000 from 5.520 million to 5.53 million
• 4-week average were 776,000, up from the previous 739,500
• Unadjusted advance initial claims under state programs rose by 228,982 or 31.9% to 947,504

U.S. stocks and the dollar are currently declining. SPY is down 0.17%, on weak jobs data.