By MATT OTT, Associated Press Business Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits jumped last week, but the total number of those collecting benefits fell to the lowest level in eight months.

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U.S. jobless claim applications for the week ending Dec. 6 climbed by 44,000 to 236,000 from the previous week’s 192,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s more than analysts’ forecast of 213,000.

The total number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the previous week ending Nov. 29 fell by 99,000 to 1.84 million, the government said. That’s the lowest level for continuing claims since mid-April.

Applications for unemployment aid are viewed as a proxy for layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of

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