Washington, Dec. 24--The Labor Department reported that jobless claims edged down by 1,000 to 353,000 in the week ended Saturday.
The four-week average, which smooths out weekly fluctuations, slipped by 250 to 361,750 from a revised 362,000.
Economists had expected claims to fall by 3,000.
The Labor Department revised its estimate of claims for the week of Dec. 13 to 354,000, up from 353,000.
New claims have been below the key level of 400,000, suggesting a stable job market, for nearly three months.
Economists say the labor market is slowly improving. Indications are that the economic recovery is growing more broad-based as consumers and businesses increase spending.
