U.S. jobless claims improve mildly; productivity remains strong

Modest progress occurred on the employment front as initial jobless claims fell 5,000 to 457,000 for the week ending Nov. 28, the lowest initial jobless claims total in more than a year, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday. But continuing claims rose 28,000 to 5.47 million in the Thanksgiving holiday-shortened week.

Separately, Monster Worldwide (MWW) said its employment index, which measures the online activity of companies posting job openings, fell to 119 in November from 120 in October, Reuters reported Thursday.