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Jobless claims rise in holiday-distorted week
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, but the data continues to be too distorted by the holidays to offer a clear read of labor market conditions. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 372,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's figure was revised to show 12,000 more applications than previously reported. Claims data reported for the week ended December 22 had been artificially depressed by the holidays, which resulted in data for 19 states being estimated. A Labor Department official said claims data ... (full story)