Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell broadly in line with market expectations last week, 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 October 25 declined by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 340,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 11,000 to 350,000 last week from the previous week’s total of 350,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended October 18 rose to 2.881 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to increase to 2.870 million from last week’s revised figure of 2.850 million.
The four-week moving average was 356,250, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's average of 348,250.
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 held on to gains against the euro, with EUR/USD falling 0.67% to trade at 1.3645.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.1%, S&P 500 futures indicated a drop of 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.3% decline.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending October 25 declined by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 340,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 11,000 to 350,000 last week from the previous week’s total of 350,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended October 18 rose to 2.881 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to increase to 2.870 million from last week’s revised figure of 2.850 million.
The four-week moving average was 356,250, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's average of 348,250.
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 held on to gains against the euro, with EUR/USD falling 0.67% to trade at 1.3645.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.1%, S&P 500 futures indicated a drop of 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.3% decline.