The 4-week moving average was 298,750, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 to 299,500 from 299,250.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.8 percent for the week ending December 6, down from 1.9 percent in the previous week. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending December 6 was 2,373,000, a decrease of 147,000 from the previous week's revised level of 2520,000.