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A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by much more than expected in the week ended December 30th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims declined to 202,000, a decrease of 18,000 from the previous week's revised level of 220,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 216,000 from the 218,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also dipped to 207,750, a decrease of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average of 212,500.
