First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased in the week ended December 7th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 242,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous weeks revised level of 225,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 220,000 from the 224,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also rose to 224,250, an increase of 5,750 from the previous weeks revised average of 218,500.