The report also showed that the 4-week moving average was 414,000, a decrease of 12,500 from the previous week's revised average of 426,500.
In addition, the department revealed that those unemployed with unemployment insurance rose to 3.3 percent for the week ending December 18, representing an increase of 0.1 percent compared to the previous week.
Furthermore, the jobless report showed a 57,000 increase in the number of workers who continue to receive benefits under regular state unemployment programs with 4,128,000 during the week ending December 18. The 4-week moving average was 4,120,000, a decrease of 37,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 4,157,250.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending December 11 were in Alaska (7.3 percent), Puerto Rico (5.1), Montana (4.8), Oregon (4.8), Pennsylvania (4.6), Idaho (4.5), California (4.4), Nevada (4.3), New Jersey (4.2), and Wisconsin (4.2).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending December 18 were in New Jersey (+5,235), Michigan (+3,087), Missouri (+2,404), Florida (+2,281), and Oregon (+2,026), while the largest decreases were in California (-7,656), Illinois (-3,149), Georgia (-1,935), Pennsylvania (-1,574), and Texas (-1,494).
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