US jobless claims fall by 10,000

(Sharecast News) - Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace in the week ended 20 December, according to the Labor Department.

Initial jobless claims fell by 10,000 week-on-week to a seasonally adjusted reading of 214,000, down from the prior week's unrevised reading of 224,000 and well below market forecasts of 223,000.

Continuing claims, on the other hand, increased by 38,000 to 1.92m from the prior week's unrevised print, while the four week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, decreased by 750 to 216,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate came in at 1.3% for the week ending 13 December, an increased of 0.1% from the previous week's unrevised rate.







Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com