Number of Americans Applying for Jobless Benefits Falls -- Again

Our jobless benefits report comes one day early this week because of Thanksgiving. Here it is:

Applications for jobless benefits fell by 10,000 for the week ending Nov. 23, bringing the total to 316,000, down from last week’s revised figure of 326,000, the Labor Department announced Thursday.

This is the sixth decline in the past seven weeks.

The four-week moving average, a “less volatile” figure, fell by 7,500, bringing the total to 331,750, down from the previous unrevised average of 339,250.

“The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.1 percent for the week ending November 16, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate,” the Labor report reads.

“The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending November 16 was 2,776,000, a decrease of 91,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,867,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,831,750, a decrease of 22,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,854,500,” it adds.

The states with the largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Nov. 16 were Florida (+888), Idaho (+573), Mississippi (+534), Minnesota (+155), and North Dakota (+103).

Meanwhile, California (-4,644), Michigan (-3,342), Pennsylvania (-3,112), Texas (-2,584), and New York (-2,246) posted the biggest decreases in initial claims.

Markets are poised to open mixed on jobs data, but buoyed on hopes for decent holiday sales:

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This post has been updated.

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