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Jobless claims fall
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December 7, 2000: 9:09 a.m. ET
First-time filings for state unemployment benefits drop by 9,000
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits for the week ended Dec. 2 was 352,000, down from a revised 361,000 for the week before, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
Economists polled by Briefing.com had forecast claims of 346,000 for the period.
 The Labor Department's four-week moving average of claims, which generally provides a more accurate picture of jobless trends, was 345,250
for the period, from up 344,000. The current figure for the U.S. four-week average is the highest since 355,250 in the July 18, 1998, week.
Continued claims were reported at 2,350,000 for the Nov. 25 week, the latest period for which those data are available, from a revised 2,325,000
in the prior period.
Four states reported an increase in claims of more than 1,000 in the week ended Nov. 25, the latest period for which the data are available. They were Wisconsin, up 16,919; Ohio, up 2,314; Oregon, up 1,556; and Indiana, up 1,267).
-- Compiled by Tanya Helenius 
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