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The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, according to a government report.
The Labor Department reported that initial filings for state jobless benefits fell to 554,000 for the week ending December 13th. That was a decline of 21,000 from the 26-year high of 575,000 claims a week earlier.
Economists were expecting jobless claims slip to 558,000. But the reduction in filers “really was not enough to offset the significant gain we saw after the Thanksgiving holiday,” said economist Andrew Gledhill.
The number of people continuing to collect unemployment declined to 4.38 million in the week ending December 6th, the most recent data available. This was a decrease of 47,000 from the preceding week.
The rash of unemployment claims shows no sign of slackening, according to Gledhill, and may hit the retail sector particularly hard as consumers reign in spending.
The number of new jobless claims rose the most in Tennessee, rising by 12,170 due to layoffs in the manufacturing industry, the Labor Department said.
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Wisconsin saw jobless claims fall the most, by 8,593, due to fewer layoffs in the construction, manufacturing and service industries.
