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 May 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 February 26 dropped to a seasonally adjusted 368K, after falling to 388K in the preceding week, whose figure was revised down from 391K.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to rise to 400K.
The report showed that continuing jobless claims in the week ended February 19 fell more-than-expected, dropping to 3.774 million, compared to 3.833 million in the preceding week, whose figure was revised up from 3.790 million.
Analysts had expected continuing jobless claims to fall to 3.800 million.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar was down against the euro, with EUR/USD gaining 0.59% to hit a four-month high of 1.3942.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was broadly higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures jumped 0.86%, S&P 500 futures rose 1.03%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a gain of 0.99%.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending February 26 dropped to a seasonally adjusted 368K, after falling to 388K in the preceding week, whose figure was revised down from 391K.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to rise to 400K.
The report showed that continuing jobless claims in the week ended February 19 fell more-than-expected, dropping to 3.774 million, compared to 3.833 million in the preceding week, whose figure was revised up from 3.790 million.
Analysts had expected continuing jobless claims to fall to 3.800 million.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar was down against the euro, with EUR/USD gaining 0.59% to hit a four-month high of 1.3942.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was broadly higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures jumped 0.86%, S&P 500 futures rose 1.03%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a gain of 0.99%.