U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Fall For First Time In A Month

The latest report from the Labor Department shows 260,000 Americans filed jobless claims last week, a decrease of 30,000 from the previous week.

Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week following three straight increases economists blamed on the surge in cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Jobless claims fell by 30,000 to 260,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, less than the 265,000 analysts were expecting.

The four-week average of claims, which compensates for weekly volatility, rose by 15,000 to 247,000.