The Real Economy Blog

Economic News from RSM

Home > Coronavirus > Initial jobless claims increase to 885,000, a three-month high

Initial jobless claims increase to 885,000, a three-month high

by

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 885,000 for the week ending Dec. 12, an increase from an upwardly revised 862,000 the week before as claims surpassed the 13-week moving average.

In addition, first-time claims for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance increased to 455,037, and continuing claims stood at 5.5 million, the Labor Department reported on Thursday.

The increase in the top-line number to a three-month high underscores the need for direct fiscal aid to millions of beleaguered workers who almost certainly face bouts of extended unemployment. While we anticipate a deal of around $900 billion to be reached this week in Congress, it will not do much to put a floor under households during the holiday season.

For more information on how the coronavirus is affecting midsize businesses, please visit the RSM Coronavirus Resource Center.

Related posts

  • Initial jobless claims preview: Expect another big increase

    We expect that for the week ending March 28, 2020, initial jobless claims will show an increase of 3.1 million when the figures are announced on Thursday. This would imply a two-week total of 6.4 million.

  • Initial jobless claims fall below 1 million

    For the first time in five months, first-time jobless claims fell below one million to 963,000 for the week ending Aug. 8, while continuing claims eased to 15.5 million, Labor Department data shows.

  • Initial jobless claims arrive above expectations

    First-time initial jobless claims increased by 884,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis, higher than the 850,000 anticipated, and by 857,000 on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, according to data released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

About Joseph Brusuelas

@JoeBrusuelas

Joe Brusuelas, “chief economist to the middle market,” is the preeminent voice championing issues and policies facing midsize companies in the United States and around the world. An award-winning economist, Brusuelas has more than 20 years’ experience analyzing U.S. monetary policy, labor markets, fiscal policy, international finance, economic indicators and the condition of the U.S. consumer.

A member of the Wall Street Journal’s forecasting panel and the UCLA Anderson School of Management's Board of Directors, Brusuelas regularly briefs members of Congress and other senior officials regarding the impacts of federal policy on the middle market and the factors by which middle market executives make business decisions. He also frequently offers his insights on the U.S., Canadian and global economies in the financial media. In 2020, he was named one of the 100 most influential economists by Richtopia. In December 2023, Brusuelas and the economics team were recognized on Bloomberg's list of Best Bond Forecasters after correctly predicting where the benchmark Treasury would end the year.

Before joining RSM in 2014, Brusuelas spent four years as a senior economist at Bloomberg L.P. and the Bloomberg Briefs newsletter group, where he co-founded the award-winning Bloomberg Economic Brief. Earlier in his career, he was a director at Moody's Analytics covering the U.S. and global economies for the Dismal Scientist website. He also served as chief economist at Merk Investments L.L.C. and chief U.S. economist at IDEAglobal.

The Real Economy Blog