- Loretta Mester, Cleveland Fed President
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits increased sharply in the week ended December 26, with some of the gains might be attributed to temporary holiday factors. Initial jobless claims surged by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 287,000, according to the Labor Department, marking the largest one-week rise since February and the highest reading for jobless claims since the week ended July 4. Economists, however, had predicted a smaller increase in new claims to 270,000. Unemployment claims data can be volatile from week to week, particularly around holidays due to seasonal adjustments. The four-week moving average, which smooths out weekly volatility, climbed by 4,500 in the reported week to 277,000. Furthermore, the number of continuing jobless claims increased by 3,000 to 2,198,000 in the week ended December 19. Nevertheless, claims remained near historically low levels, an indication of a strong job market.
Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester predicts the US economy to grow at a slightly faster pace in 2016 than last year. Mester forecasts the world's number one economy to expand at a 2.5% to 2.75% pace in 2016. At the same time, Fed policy makers project that they will further raise the target range by a full percentage point over the course of the year, to 1.25%-1.5%.
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