Jobless Claims Tailed Off Last Week

New claims for unemployment insurance dropped last week but remained at a level that indicates the red-hot labor market is cooling.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial applications for jobless benefits fell by 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 352,000 for the week ending Dec. 2. That was the lowest level since Nov. 18. Many analysts had been expecting unemployment claims to rise.

On Wall Street Thursday, concerns were focused more on earnings warnings than the job market. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 45.89.