The data from the Labour Department revealed on Thursday the number of applications
for unemployment rose less than predicted last week.
According to the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits increased by 2,000 to 205,000 for the week ended December
16. Economists had forecast 215,000 new claims last week.
Claims
for the prior week were revised upwardly to 203,000 from the original estimate
of 202,000.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average of jobless claims fell to 212,000 from an upwardly
revised 213,500 (from 213,250) in the previous week. This represented the
lowest count in seven weeks.
As for continuing claims, they dropped to 1,865,000 from a downwardly revised
1,866,000 (from 1,876,000) in the previous week. Economists had expected continuing jobless claims of 1,888,000.