• Initial claims rose to 207K in the week ending on January 1, above the 197K expected. 
• The insured unemployment rate remains steady at 1.3%. 

There were 207,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US during the week ending January 1, data published by the US Department of Labor (DoL) revealed on Thursday. This reading followed last week's print of 200,000 (which was revised up from 198,000) and came in slightly above consensus market expectations for 197,000. 

Continued jobless claims rose to 1.754M in the week ending December 25, the data showed, above expectations for a decline to 1.688M from 1.718M the week prior (which was revised up from 1.716M). The insured unemployment rate remained at 1.3% versus 1.3% last week. 

Market Reaction

The latest data, which continues to suggest that the US labour market remained in strong health in the final weeks of December despite surging Omicron infections, did not provoke a market reaction. Focus is on Friday's official US labour market report for the month of December.