In December, 20,526 initial claims were filed in Nevada, compared to 22,147 in December 2011. That is a 7.3 percent decrease over the year, the 34th time in the past 37 months that claims have been lower than the year before, said Bill Anderson, chief economist for Nevada's Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. Initial claims peaked during the recession at 36,414 in December 2008, and the low point for initial claims was 13,932 in September 2012. Over the past four years, initial claims have fallen 44 percent as the Nevada economy continues to recover from the recession, Anderson said. …