Initial Jobless Claims Fall by 4,000
U.S. jobless claims fell by 4,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Jan. 8.
The drop to 294,000 claims for the week ended Jan. 3 came as labor-market tightening compelled employers to hold on to seasonal hires.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had forecast a decline to 290,000.
The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, slipped to 290,500 from 290,750.
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits climbed by 101,000 to 2.45 million in the previous week ended Dec. 27.
The Labor Department will release December’s jobs report Jan. 9.
Economists are projecting a 240,000 gain in December payrolls, which would put the increase for 2014 at 2.89 million, the most since 1999, according to Bloomberg.
The jobless rate is forecast to fall to 5.7% from November’s 5.8%, which would be the lowest rate since June 2008.
