The Labor Department has released figures showing that the number of jobless claims filed last week rose due to seasonal layoffs. The number of claims rose by 21,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 377,000.

Meanwhile the Commerce Department has released figures today showing that U.S. economic growth has quickened to an annualized rate of 2.8 percent in the last quarter; up from a pace of 1.8 percent in the third quarter. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve predicted that the unemployment rate could fall to 8.2 percent by year's end as the economy grew at a rate of 2.5 percent.