Washington, DC, December 8, 2005--First-time jobless claims rose 6,000 to 327,000 in the week ending Dec. 3, according to the Labor Department.
Economists were expecting claims to drop by 2,000 to 318,000. Claims in the previous week were revised to a decrease of 16,000 to 321,000 compared with the initial estimate of a fall of 17,000 to 320,000.
The four-week average of initial claims fell 250 to 322,500.
The number of Americans receiving state jobless benefits fell 137,000 to 2.60 million in the week ending Nov. 26. This is the lowest level since the week ending Sept. 3. The four-week moving average of continuing claims fell 46,750 to 2.73 million, the lowest since Sept. 24.
