Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits this week from last week
Washington — The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell from a five-month high last week, pointing to labour strength that underscores the economy’s sustained momentum. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 258,000 for the week ended December 3, the Department of Labor said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week were unrevised. It was the 92nd-straight week that claims were below 300,000, a threshold that is associated with a healthy labour market. That is the longest stretch since 1970, when the labour market was much smaller. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast first-time applications for jobless benefits falling to 258,000 in the latest week. Claims hit a 43-year low in mid-November. Economists had dismissed the recent back-to-back increases in filings, which had pushed claims to a five-month high, as an aberration. Claims tend to be volatile around this time of the year because of different timings of the ...
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