Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell unexpectedly to the lowest level since January 2008 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 July 26 fell by 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 326,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to a gain of 345,000, from a previously reported 343,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to hold steady at 345,000 last week.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended July 20 fell to 2.951 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 2.994 million from last week’s revised figure of 3.003 million.
The four-week moving average was 341,250, a decline of 4,500 from the previous week's revised average of 345,750.
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 0.76% to trade at 1.3202.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets remained higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a gain of 0.7% at the open, S&P 500 futures pointed to a rise of 0.8% and Nasdaq 100 futures indicated an increase of 0.7%.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 26 fell by 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 326,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to a gain of 345,000, from a previously reported 343,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to hold steady at 345,000 last week.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended July 20 fell to 2.951 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 2.994 million from last week’s revised figure of 3.003 million.
The four-week moving average was 341,250, a decline of 4,500 from the previous week's revised average of 345,750.
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 0.76% to trade at 1.3202.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets remained higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a gain of 0.7% at the open, S&P 500 futures pointed to a rise of 0.8% and Nasdaq 100 futures indicated an increase of 0.7%.