Initial Jobless Claims Fell Last Week

The number of Americans who filed for new unemployment benefits declined last week, as the U.S. labor market faces heightened economic uncertainty.

- BY PAULO TREVISANI

In the week through Dec. 20, 214,000 new unemployment claims were filed, a decrease from 224,000 a week earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had been forecasting 225,000 claims.