Investing.com – The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell unexpectedly, dropping to the lowest level since April 2008, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending December 16 fell by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 364,000, confounding expectations for a gain of 7,000 to 375,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 368,000 from 366,000.
Claims have fallen below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in six of the past seven weeks.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended December 10 fell to 3.546 million, beating expectations for a decline to 3.600 million. Continuing claims for the previous week were revised up to 3.625 million from 3.603 million.
The average of new claims over the past four weeks decreased by 8,000 to 380,250. The monthly average is seen as a more accurate gauge of labor trends because it reduces volatility in the week-to-week data.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar turned higher against the euro, with EUR/USD easing down 0.09% to trade at 1.3036.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures trimmed gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a rise of 0.2%, S&P 500 futures added 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.1% gain.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending December 16 fell by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 364,000, confounding expectations for a gain of 7,000 to 375,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 368,000 from 366,000.
Claims have fallen below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in six of the past seven weeks.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended December 10 fell to 3.546 million, beating expectations for a decline to 3.600 million. Continuing claims for the previous week were revised up to 3.625 million from 3.603 million.
The average of new claims over the past four weeks decreased by 8,000 to 380,250. The monthly average is seen as a more accurate gauge of labor trends because it reduces volatility in the week-to-week data.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar turned higher against the euro, with EUR/USD easing down 0.09% to trade at 1.3036.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures trimmed gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a rise of 0.2%, S&P 500 futures added 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.1% gain.