3 minute read | December 22, 2022 8:45 AM EST | Last Updated 15 min ago

U.S. weekly jobless claims rise slightly; third-quarter GDP revised higher

Reuters

WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased less than expected last week, pointing to a still tight labor market, while the economy rebounded faster than previously estimated in the third quarter.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 216,000 for the week ended Dec. 17, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 222,000 claims for the latest week.

Claims have swung up and down in recent weeks, but have remained below the 270,000 threshold, which economists said would raise a red flag for the labor market. A raft of layoffs in the technology sector and interest-rate sensitive industries like housing have not had a material impact on claims.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last week said "it feels like we have a structural labor shortage out there." ... Labor market resilience is keeping the U.S. central bank on its aggressive policy tightening campaign, with the Fed last week projecting at least an additional 75 basis points of increases in borrowing costs by the end of 2023. It has hiked its policy rate by 425 basis points this year from near zero to a 4.25%-4.50% range, the highest since late 2007.

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