MarketWatch (11/25/15) Jeffry Bartash

The U.S. Department of Labor reports U.S. unemployment benefits fell by 12,000 to 260,000 in the week before Thanksgiving, keeping jobless claims near the lowest level in years. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected claims to total a seasonally adjusted 270,000 in the seven days Nov. 15-21. The average of new claims over the past month, meanwhile, was unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 271,000, according to DOL. Continuing claims totaled 2.21 million in the seven days ended Nov. 14, which is 34,000 more than in the previous week.

Associated Press (11/25/15) Martin Crutsinger

Orders for U.S.-made durable goods rose a seasonally adjusted 3% last month, the U.S. Department of Commerce reports, after two months of weakness, while a key category that tracks business investment plans advanced by the largest amount in three months. The increase was led by a surge in demand for commercial aircraft but reflected widespread gains in a number of categories, from machinery to computers. A key category that serves as a proxy for business investment spending rose 1.3% in October, the best showing since July.

USA Today (11/25/15) Paul Davidson

Around 2.7 million Americans quit jobs in September, holding steady for the past 13 months even as the unemployment rate dropped from 5.9% to 5.1% over the same period, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor. A large number of quits generally signals a dynamic economy in which workers feel confident about leaving one job for another, so economists are concerned that the figure has barely budged. The number of quits rose from 1.7 million to 2.7 million from early 2010 to late 2014, and the number of quits was around 3 million during a similar point in the last recovery in late 2005.

Economists believe modest wage growth is among the reasons employees are not as confident in the labor market right now. However, in the maturing recovery, Jeffrey Cohn of the executive search firm DHR International says companies are seeking workers with more specialized skills, and Paul McDonald of Robert Half says job candidates increasingly are more interested in training and a promising career path than stability or higher pay.