WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a bigger than expected increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended December 29th.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 231,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 221,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to edge up to 220,000 from the 216,000 originally reported for the previous month.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News
