Initial Jobless Claims Rise 14K

In a rise that may well be revised away, initial jobless claims rose an unexpectedly sharp 14,000 to 225,000 in the November 9 week. Yet the data include a number of state estimates including for two large states, California and Pennsylvania, which limits the impact of the results. In any case, the 225,000 level is still only 10,000 above the 215,000 trend for initial claims.

Continuing claims, in lagging data for the November 2 week, remained stable and low, at 1.683 million with the 4-week average unchanged at 1.688 million. The unemployment rate for insured workers remains very low at 1.2 percent.