Advance initial claims (seasonally adjusted) for the week ending December 20: 214,000.

The Department of Labor reports that seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims for the week ending December 20 fell to 214,000 (down 10,000 from the prior week) with a 4-week moving average of 216,750. The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment level for the week ending December 13 rose to 1,923,000 (up 38,000), and the insured unemployment rate was 1.3 percent. On an unadjusted basis, initial claims totaled 264,009 (up 8,832), while continued weeks claimed across all programs fell to 1,905,668. No state was triggered "on" for the Extended Benefits program.