U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Rebound From Nearly 45-Year Low

After reporting first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits at their lowest level in nearly 45 years in the previous week, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a rebound in initial jobless claims in the week ended January 20th.

The report said initial jobless claims rose to 233,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 216,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to climb to 240,000 from the 218,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With the downward revision, jobless claims in the previous week were at their lowest level since February of 1973.

The Labor Department noted claims taking procedures in Puerto Rico and in the Virgin Islands have still not returned to normal.

Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average fell to 240,000, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 243,500.

Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also dropped by 28,000 to 1.937 million in the week ended January 13th.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims dipped to 1,920,000, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 1,923,500.

Next Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on the employment situation in the month of January.

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