U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Dip To 201,000

(RTTNews) - With the more closely watched monthly jobs report looming, the Labor Department released a report on Wednesday unexpectedly showing another modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended January 4th.

The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 201,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 211,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 218,000.

With the unexpected dip, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 200,000 in the week ended February 17, 2004.