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.
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Business News
May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.