REUTERS/Shannon StapletonA man waits in line to enter the NYCHires Job Fair in New York.The weekly report on initial jobless claims is set for release at the bottom of the hour.
Expectations are for claims to come in at 290,000, down from last week's 298,000.
Last week's report missed expectations.
Thursday's claims number is the last piece of employment data we get before Friday's big December jobs report, which is expected to show US companies added 240,000 jobs during 2014's final month.
We'll be back with the live numbers when they hit.