In the week ending December 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 225,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 216,000. The 4-week moving average was 221,000, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 500 from 221,750 to 221,250. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending December 17, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending December 17 was 1,710,000, ... (full story)