New jobless claims unexpectedly decline for 2nd week in a row

The US Department of Labor Building
(Image credit: ALEX EDELMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The number of Americans filing new jobless claims has again declined unexpectedly while remaining historically high.

The Labor Department on Thursday said 787,000 Americans filed new jobless claims last week, down 19,000 from the revised level of the week before. This was the second consecutive week that the number of new jobless claims declined unexpectedly, as economists were anticipating the number of claims would climb to 828,000, CNBC reports. Bloomberg notes, however, that the "figures are often volatile around holidays."

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.