By Amina Niasse
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, indicating the labor market continues to cool in the year’s fourth quarter.
New state unemployment benefit claims rose by 12,000 last week to 218,000, according to the Labor Department. A Reuters poll showed economists expected an increase to 210,000 initial claims for the week ended Dec. 23.
(Reporting by Amina Niasse; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
