U.S. initial jobless claims fall in line with expectations, supportive of further improvement in labor market conditions

U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ended 3 December dropped to 258,000 from 268,000, greatly consistent with consensus estimate of 257,000. The four-week moving average was up modestly to 253,000. Continuing claims for the week ended 26 November also fell to 2005k from 2084k.

State wise, 32 states recorded a decline in claims. California, Georgia and Tennesse registered the biggest fall on a seasonally adjusted basis. In the meantime, continuing claims also declined in the vast majority of states, showing a healthy national labor market. Overall, the report is supportive of additional improvement in labor market conditions in 2016, noted Barclays in a research report.