Subscribe to Newsletter to get latest insights & analysis in your inbox. Download the ETHRWorld App and get the Realtime updates and Save your favourite articles. Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week with layoffs remaining low despite a weakening labor market.U.S. applications for jobless claims for the week ending Dec. 27 fell by 16,000 to 199,000 from the previous week's 215,000, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet forecast 208,000 new applications.Unemployment benefit filings are often distorted during holiday-shortened weeks.

Source: Economic Times January 01, 2026 08:49 UTC