US initial jobless claims rose by 7,000 in the week ended Jan. 1 to a total of 207,000, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the US Department of Labor. The four-week moving average of claims rose by 4,750 to a total of 204,500.
CNBC reported that claims rose more than expected because of the omicron variant. Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, told CNBC that omicron doesn’t seem to have had a big effect on layoffs and the omicron surge is expected to drop significantly in the next month.
Looking at state-level data for initial jobless claims, New York saw the biggest increase in claims, up 8,922 to a total of 26,580. The state with the largest decrease in claims was Missouri, where jobless claims fell by 1,158 to a total of 4,745. The state-level data is not seasonally adjusted.