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WASHINGTON, D.C. — A total of 787,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment insurance assistance for the week ending Dec. 26, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday, Dec. 31. The most recent figure marks a decrease of 19,000 claims from the previous week, though claims remain historically high compared to pre-pandemic numbers when claims hovered around 200,000 per week. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected the tally to rise to 828,000. The four-week moving average increased by 17,750 claims to 836,750 from the previous week. Continuing claims, for which data lags a week, fell by 103,000 claims to 5.2 million for the week ending Dec. 19.