CoinWorld News reports that on December 26, analysts Nancy Lazar and Dave Wigglesworth from the financial firm Piper Sandler indicated that the holiday period would introduce volatility in the seasonal adjustments used for unemployment claims data. However, the difference between the number of initial unemployment claims and the number of continuing unemployment claims reflects a deeper trend: the number of initial unemployment claims has remained relatively stable, dropping to 219,000 in the most recent week, while the number of people continuing to claim unemployment benefits has risen to its highest level since the end of 2021. This suggests that for most employed individuals, everything is normal — there has not been a surge in layoffs — but once unemployed, it is difficult to find a new job, which aligns with the situation where the labor market is cooling but has not collapsed.