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U.S. jobless claims climb
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December 21, 2000: 8:56 a.m. ET
First-time filings for state unemployment benefits rose last week
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits for the week ended Dec. 16 rose to 354,000, from 320,000 for the week prior, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
Economists polled by Briefing.com had forecast claims of 340,000 for the period.
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The current number reported for the four-week moving average is the highest since 355,250 for the week of July 18, 1998.
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The Labor Department's four-week moving average of claims, which generally provides a more accurate picture of jobless trends, was 347,250
for the period, from a revised 343,750.
The current number reported for the four-week moving average is the highest since 355,250 for the week of July 18, 1998.
Continued claims were reported at 2,323,000 for the Dec. 9 week, the latest period for which those data are available, from a revised 2,244,000 in the prior period.
Ohio, Illinois, Delaware and Kentucky all reported increases in claims of more than 1,000 in the week ended Dec. 9, the latest period for which the data are available.
--Compiled by Tanya Helenius 
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