US initial jobless claims decline, defying forecast

The U.S. Department of Labor reported on Wednesday that initial jobless claims declined in the past week, falling below expectations.

US initial jobless claims decline, defying forecast

For the week ending November 23, initial claims totaled 213,000, a decrease from the previous week's revised figure of 215,000 (up from the originally reported 213,000).

Economists had forecast claims would rise to 217,000.

Meanwhile, continuing jobless claims rose to 1.907 million in the week ending November 16, up from 1.898 million the prior week. This was below the expected increase to 1.91 million, with the previous figure revised down from 1.908 million.