The Labor Department released its weekly unemployment statistics on Thursday. It showed that about 206,000 workers filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending on December 11th. This is an increase over last week's number.
Here is the official Labor Department statement:
In the week ending December 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 206,000, an increase of 18,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 4,000 from 184,000 to 188,000. The 4-week moving average was 203,750, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since November 15, 1969 when it was 202,750. The previous week's average was revised up by 1,000 from 218,750 to 219,750.