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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits
slipped by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 294,000 for the week
ended Dec.6, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior
week's data was unrevised.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to
295,000 last week.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better
measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week
volatility, ticked up by 250 to 299,250, holding below the
300,000 mark for the 13th straight month.
A Labor Department analyst said there were no special factors
influencing last week's claims data. There is little doubt that
the labor market is gathering steam.
Job gains in November were the largest in nearly three years and
marked the 10th straight month of increases above 200,000, the
longest such stretch since 1994.
The claims report showed the number of people still receiving
benefits after an initial week of aid increased by 142,000 to
2.51 million in the week ended Nov. 29.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)
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