In the week ending December 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 294,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 297,000. The 4 - week moving average was 299,250, an increase of 250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 299,000. There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.9 percent for the week end ing November 29, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ... (full story)