23.12.202012:36:00UTC+00U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Pull Back To 803,000

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits showed a significant pullback in the week ended December 19th, the Labor Department revealed in a report released on Wednesday.

The report said initial jobless claims slid to 803,000, a decrease of 89,000 from the previous week's revised level of 892,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 885,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average inched up to 818,250, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised average of 814,250.