U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unchanged At 205,000

(RTTNews) - First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in flat in the week ended December 18th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims were unchanged from the previous week's revised level of 205,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 205,000 from the 206,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the report showed the less volatile four-week moving average edged up to 206,250, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 203,500.