US continuing jobless claims fall back towards trend in mid-December

US initial jobless claims went down a tick to 267k in the week ending December 19, just coming in less than the consensus expectations of 270k. Four week moving average climbed one touch to 273k, with Labor department reporting no special factors.

For the survey week for the December employment report, the continuing jobless claims for the week ending December 12 dropped to 2.195mn. This data confirms the moderately high readings over past two weeks for continuing unemployment claims which do not represent inflection point or upward trend, that is likely to sustain.

"Low levels of jobless claims indicate that US labor markets are finishing 2015 on a solid footing. We look for further improvement next year, with the unemployment rate falling to 4.6% by the end of Q2", says Barclays in a research note.