Jobless Claims Fall For The First Time In Month

WASHINGTON (AP) –  Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week following three straight increases economists blamed on the surge in cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims fell by 30,000 to 260,000 last week, slightly less than the 265,000 analysts were expecting. The four-week average of claims, which compensates for weekly volatility, rose by 15,000 to 247,000. Altogether, nearly 1.7 million people were collecting jobless aid the week that ended Jan. 15, a nominal increase of 51,000 from the previous week.