WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Initial jobless claims in the United States slightly decreased to 219,000 last week amid a cooling labor market, the U.S. Labor Department reported on Thursday.

In the week ending Dec. 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 219,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised level, according to a report released by the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The four-week moving average -- a method to iron out data volatility -- was 226,500, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average, the report showed.

According to data released early December, U.S. job growth bounced back in November after weak numbers in the previous month, with employers adding 227,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.2 percent.

Employment trended up in health care, leisure and hospitality, government, and social assistance, according to BLS. Retail trade lost jobs.

The unemployment rate, at 4.2 percent, increased slightly compared to the 4.1 percent in October. The measure was higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.7 percent. Enditem

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