US jobless claims fall to 265,000, in line with expectations

Initial jobless claims across the US fell by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 265,000 in the week ended Dec. 23, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The drop came in line with economists' expectations of 264,000 claims and partly reversed an advance in the prior week.

Initial jobless claims have now remain below 300,000 for 95 consecutive weeks, the longest such streak since 1970.

Meanwhile, continuing unemployment claims rose by 63,000 to 2,102,000 in the week ended Dec. 16, above the 2,030,000 expected.