Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell more-than-expected last week, easing concerns over the U.S. jobs market, 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 June 8 fell by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 334,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 1,000 to 345,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week rose by 346,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended June 1 rose to 2.973 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to increase to 2.975 million from last week’s revised figure of 2.971 million.
The four-week moving average was 345,250, a decline of 7,250 from the previous week's revised average of 352,500.
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 added to gains against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.25% to trade at 1.3303.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock future indices pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to loss of 0.2%, S&P 500 futures indicated a decline of 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a loss of 0.3%.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending June 8 fell by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 334,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 1,000 to 345,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week rose by 346,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended June 1 rose to 2.973 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to increase to 2.975 million from last week’s revised figure of 2.971 million.
The four-week moving average was 345,250, a decline of 7,250 from the previous week's revised average of 352,500.
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 added to gains against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.25% to trade at 1.3303.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock future indices pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to loss of 0.2%, S&P 500 futures indicated a decline of 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a loss of 0.3%.