Initial jobless claims fell to 199k (-16k WoW; -10k YoY), indicating continued stability in near-term layoff activity.

• Initial claims (SA) declined to 199,000 from 215,000 (-16,000 WoW) for the week ending December 27 and remained below the prior-year level of 209,000.

• Initial claims (NSA) increased to 269,953 (+5,333 WoW) from 264,620, reflecting seasonal patterns, but were still below the year-ago level of 283,488.

• The 4-week moving average of initial claims (SA) edged up to 218,750 (+1,750 WoW) and remained below its prior-year level of 222,250, suggesting a broadly steady underlying trend.

• Insured unemployment (SA) fell to 1.866M (-47,000 WoW) for the week ending December 20 but was higher than a year earlier (1.828M), pointing to elevated continued claims on a YoY basis.

• Insured unemployment (NSA) declined to 1.881M (-103,231 WoW) and was modestly above the prior-year level of 1.859M, consistent with seasonal unwinding.

• The insured unemployment rate held at 1.2% SA (unchanged WoW), while the NSA rate slipped to 1.2% (-0.1 ppt), indicating stable benefit utilization.

• Federal program claims were mixed, with UCFE filings rising to 812 (+7 WoW) and UCX claims falling to 364 (-27 WoW), while both remained above year-ago levels.