US applications for unemployment benefits come back down after last week's big rise

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell markedly last week following a big increase the week before.

Jobless claim applications declined by 22,000 to 220,000 for the week of Dec. 14, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 229,000 analysts were forecasting.

Continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, fell by 5,000 to 1.87 million for the week of Dec. 7. That was also fewer than analysts had projected.

The four-week average of weekly claims, which quiets some of the week-to-week volatility, rose by 1,250 to 225,500.

Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs.