The data from
the Labour Department revealed on
Thursday the number of applications for unemployment fell more than expected last week.
According to
the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits decreased by 18,000 to 202,000 for the week ended December 30. This was
the first fall in first-time unemployment claims in three weeks and marked the
lowest reading since mid-October.
Economists had forecast
216,000 new claims last week.
Claims for the prior week
were revised upwardly to 220,000 from the original estimate of 218,000.
Meanwhile, the
four-week moving average of jobless claims declined to 207,750 from an upwardly revised 212,500 (from 212,000)
in the previous week. This represented the lowest count in eleven weeks.
As for
continuing claims, they dropped to 1,855,000 from an upwardly revised 1,886,000
(from 1,875,000) in the previous week. This marked the lowest reading since mid-November.
Economists had expected continuing jobless claims of 1,883,000.