Unemployment claims fall slightly Christmas week to a still-steep 787,000

Christmas week saw a slight decline in new jobless claims compared to past weeks, according to the Department of Labor’s newest report. Initial numbers show 787,000 new jobless claims, down from a revised 806,000 the previous week.

There are caveats to that modest decrease, however. It’s likely to be revised upwards, and the four-week average is still trending upward. Pandemic unemployment numbers continue to be far higher than pre-pandemic averages.

We don’t yet know how successful this next round of stimulus will be at staving off additional layoffs, but it is likely that pandemic safety restrictions across the country will soon tighten due to runaway infection levels and a critical lack of hospital resources in some regions.