US weekly jobless claims rise less than expected

• First-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose less than expected.
• They also declined from the previous week, the Labor Department reports in its weekly jobless claims report.

First-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose less than expected, declining from the previous week.

U.S. weekly jobless claims totaled 225,000 in the week ending Dec. 9, less than the 239,000 expected by economists polled by Reuters. That was a decline from the previous week, when 236,000 claims were reported.

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Correction: An earlier headline mischaracterized the effects of the report.