(RTTNews) - The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly decreased in the week ended December 9th.
The report said initial jobless claims fell to 202,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised level of 221,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 220,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 213,250, a decrease of 7,750 from the previous week's revised average of 221,000.
