Applications for US unemployment benefits fell after a spike in the previous week, underscoring the choppy nature of the data at this time of year.

Initial claims decreased by 13,000 to 224,000 in the week ended Dec. 13, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 225,000 applications.

Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, rose to 1.9 million in the previous week.

Holiday-related factors often lead to swings in weekly claims data, which will likely continue through the end of the year. But Thursday's figures suggest employers are still largely holding onto workers amid economic uncertainty. However, a number of large employers, including Verizon Communications Inc. and PepsiCo Inc., have recently announced plans to cut workers.

The government's latest employment report, released earlier this week, showed the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% from September to November. It also indicated sluggish hiring and a continued challenge for out-of-work Americans to find a new job.

The four-week moving average of new applications, a metric that helps smooth out volatility, was little changed at 217,500 last week. 

Before adjusting for seasonal factors, initial claims broadly dropped by nearly 60,000 last week, with the biggest declines seen in Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania.

Source : Bloomberg.com