WASHINGTON — 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.
Jobless claims fell by 30,000 to 260,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, 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.