US weekly jobless claims down 11,000 to 384,000
Initial claims for regular state unemployment benefits fell 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 384,000 for the week ended December 15 from the previous week, the US Labor Department said.
This is the lowest level of claims since the week ended July 28.
Jobless claims have now declined in seven out of the last eight weeks.
The fall was unexpected. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for jobless claims to rise by 52,000 to 446,000.
Jobless claims for the week ended December 8 fell a revised 85,000 to 395,000, compared with the initial estimate of a 86,000 drop to 394,000. The large decline was caused by fewer layoffs across the country as 41 states reported a decrease in claims.
The four-week moving average for initial jobless claims fell 12,250 to 438,000. This is the lowest four-week moving average since the week ended Sept 22.
On an unadjusted basis, claims fell 52,299 to 439,305. There were 403,098 claims in the comparable week last year.
For the week ended December 8, the insured unemployment rate was 2.9%, up from 2.8% in the prior week.
Continuing jobless claims for the week ended December 8 rose 55,000 to 3.70 million.
Continuing claims include workers who have already filed an initial jobless claim, and are now drawing unemployment benefits.
