The data from
the Labor Department revealed on Thursday the number of applications for
unemployment decreased more than forecast last week.
According to
the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 75,000 to 712,000
for the week ended November 28.
Economists had
expected 775,000 new claims last week.
Claims for the
prior week were revised upwardly to 787,000 from the initial estimate of 778,000.
Meanwhile, the
four-week moving average of claims dropped to 739,500 from an upwardly revised 750,750
in the previous week.
Continuing
claims declined to 5,520,000 million from an upwardly revised 6,089,000 in the
previous week.