A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended November 25th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims inched up to 218,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level of 211,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 220,000 from the 209,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 220,000, a decrease of 500 from the previous week's revised average of 220,500.
