Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell less-than-expected, dampening optimism over the U.S. labor 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 December 28 declined by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 339,000. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 7,000 to 334,000 last week from the previous week’s revised total of 341,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended December 21 fell to 2.833 million from 2.931 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing claims to rise to 2.897 million.
The four-week moving average was 357,250, an increase of 8,500 from the previous week's average of 348,750. 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 remained higher against the euro, with EUR/USD falling 0.8% to trade at 1.3649.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a mixed open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.2%, S&P 500 futures indicated a loss of 0.15%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a decline of 0.2%.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending December 28 declined by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 339,000. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 7,000 to 334,000 last week from the previous week’s revised total of 341,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended December 21 fell to 2.833 million from 2.931 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing claims to rise to 2.897 million.
The four-week moving average was 357,250, an increase of 8,500 from the previous week's average of 348,750. 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 remained higher against the euro, with EUR/USD falling 0.8% to trade at 1.3649.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a mixed open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.2%, S&P 500 futures indicated a loss of 0.15%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a decline of 0.2%.