Initial jobless claims slid 4,000 to 231,000 in the week ended Dec. 1, the Labor Department said Thursday.
The claims figure for the week ended Nov. 24 was 235,000. Continuing jobless claims were 1.631 million in the week ended Nov. 24, down 74,000 from 1.705 million the week before.
IFR Markets expected 225,000 initial claims.
The four-week average of initial claims was up 4,250 in the week ended Dec. 1to 228,000.
The new Congress will have a full plate including deciding the fate of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and Internal Revenue Service funding in a legislature that's already showing cracks of disagreement.
Kotek has spent the past month working on a very busy agenda involving housing, fires, transportation and construction labor agreements.
High-yield funds saw outflows of $413.6 million compared to the previous week's outflows of $71 million.
Six Texas cities sued the state comptroller over a rule that altered where sales taxes would be collected on certain online purchases.
The battle over ESG investing is spreading in the Midwest, with the recent passage of an Ohio law and a decision by the Indiana Public Retirement System.
Analysts are unsure what the Federal Open Market Committee will do with monetary policy in 2025. The panel projects two rate cuts, but some analysts expect more, and others see fewer.
