US initial unemployment claims fell to 381,000 in the week ending 3 December - a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 404,000.
The US Department of Labor said the four-week moving average was 393,250, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average of 396,250.
The advance seasonally-adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.8% for the week ending 26 November, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate.
The advance number for seasonally-adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending 26 November was 3,583,000, a decrease of 174,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,757,000.
The four-week moving average was 3,667,250, a decrease of 20,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,687,750.
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