U.S. Jobless Claims Decline to Lowest Level Since 1969 Sign up for the New Economy Daily newsletter, follow us @economics and subscribe to our podcast . Applications for U.S. state unemployment benefits declined last week to the lowest level since 1969, illustrating difficulties adjusting the raw data for seasonal effects. Initial unemployment claims totaled 184,000 in the week ended Dec. 4, down 43,000 from the prior period, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 220,000 applications. The drop pushes the level of applications below the plunge two weeks earlier in what many economists attributed to difficulties adjusting for seasonal swings around the holidays. On an unadjusted basis, initial claims climbed by about 64,000. Requests for jobless aid have trended down since the start of the year as Americans return to work and employers focus on retaining staff to meet robust […]