US Initial Claims Rise Most Since 2020
Initial jobless claims in the US climbed by 44,000 from the previous week to 236,000 for the period ending December 6, 2025, breaking a four-week streak of declines and surpassing market expectations of 220,000.
This marked the biggest weekly rise since March 2020, and followed the Thanksgiving holiday week, when claims fell to their lowest level in more than three years. Initial claims usually display increased volatility around the holidays, a pattern that is likely to persist through year-end.
In the meantime, continuing claims fell to 1838 thousand in the week ending November 29th 2025, the lowest since April 12 2025, from a downwardly revised 1937 thousand in the previous period, and well below forecasts of 1950 thousand.
Source: Tradingeconomics.com