Continuing unemployment claims rose to 1.91 million for the week ending December 14, their highest level in over three years.
This indicates that job searches are taking longer and people are remaining unemployed for longer than previously expected.
However, initial unemployment claims are down compared to this time last year, due to both ineligibility and a lack of incentives to apply among those who are eligible. Still, the increase in continuing jobless claims, with laid-off workers facing longer stretches of unemployment, shows that the labor market is slowing.
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