[U.S. Initial Jobless Claims for the Week Ending December 20 Lower Than Expected] The U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending December 20 were 214,000, lower than the expected 224,000. The previous value was 224,000. The four-week average was 216,750, compared to the previous value of 217,500. Continuing jobless claims for the week ending December 13 were 1.923 million, higher than the expected 1.9 million. The previous value was revised from 1.897 million to 1.885 million.