DOL Says Initial Jobless Claims in U.S. Dropped 3,000 Last Week to 294,000

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to a three-week low as an improving economy limited dismissals, Labor Department figures showed Dec. 11.

There were 294,000 new jobless claims in the week ended Dec. 6, a decrease of 3,000 from the week before. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for first-time applications to hold at the prior week’s 297,000. Claims have been below 300,000 for 12 of the past 13 weeks.

Companies are retaining staff and hiring at the strongest pace since 1999 as they try to meet stronger demand for their goods and ...