WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- There were 289,000 new claims for unemployment benefits last week, down 6,000 from the previous week, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
The department revised the number for the week ending Dec. 6 to 295,000, up 1,000 from the preliminary figure. The figures are seasonally adjusted.
The four-week moving average, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, was 298,750 for the week ending Dec. 13, down 750 from the revised average for the previous week.
In the week ending Dec. 6, 2.373 million people filed for unemployment, down 147,000 from the previous week.
Economists hailed the drop in unemployment claims, which suggests fewer people are being laid off, as another sign of a stronger labor market. The department reported that employers added 321,000 jobs in November.
"The trend in claims remains very low and stable," Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics told the Wall Street Journal.
Federal Reserve officials expect the unemployment rate, now at 5.8 percent, to fall to 5.2 or 5.3 percent next year.
