By Ruth Mantell
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Labor Department's report on weekly jobless claims is due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expect claims in the week ended Dec. 25 to decline to 413,000 from the prior week's level of 420,000. The level of claims helps observers to analyze the health of the labor market, and economists say claims would have to fall below 400,000 before there's a substantial gain in hiring.
