U.S. weekly jobless claims total 222,000 vs. 240,000 estimate

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose last week but held at levels consistent with how the job market looked before the Covid-19 pandemic devastated the U.S. jobs picture, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

First-time filings for the week ended Nov. 27 totaled 222,000, less than the 240,000 Wall Street expected. That was higher than the 194,000 from the previous week, but that total, the lowest since 1969, was revised even lower from the initial 1999,000 reported.

The totals are the product of heavy seasonal adjustments, though the unadjusted number was actually lower, at 211,896.

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