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. 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 November 15 declined by 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 323,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 9,000 to 335,000 last week from the previous week’s revised total of 344,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended November 9 rose to 2.876 million from 2.810 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing claims to rise to 2.870 million.
The four-week moving average was 338,500, a decline of 6,750 from the previous week's average of 345,250.
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 losses against the euro, with EUR/USD adding 0.15% to trade at 1.3460.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.4%, S&P 500 futures indicated a rise of 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled an increase of 0.4%.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending November 15 declined by 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 323,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 9,000 to 335,000 last week from the previous week’s revised total of 344,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended November 9 rose to 2.876 million from 2.810 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing claims to rise to 2.870 million.
The four-week moving average was 338,500, a decline of 6,750 from the previous week's average of 345,250.
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 losses against the euro, with EUR/USD adding 0.15% to trade at 1.3460.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.4%, S&P 500 futures indicated a rise of 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled an increase of 0.4%.