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 May 18 fell by 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 18,000 to 345,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to 363,000 from a previously reported increase of 360,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended May 11 fell to 2.912 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to drop to 3.000 million from last week’s revised figure of 3.024 million.
The four-week moving average was 339,500, a decline of 500 from the previous week's revised average of 340,000.
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 lower against the euro, with EUR/USD adding 0.3% to trade at 1.2897.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock future indices pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.8%, S&P 500 futures pointed to a loss of 1%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a drop of 0.9% at the open.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending May 18 fell by 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 18,000 to 345,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to 363,000 from a previously reported increase of 360,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended May 11 fell to 2.912 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to drop to 3.000 million from last week’s revised figure of 3.024 million.
The four-week moving average was 339,500, a decline of 500 from the previous week's revised average of 340,000.
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 lower against the euro, with EUR/USD adding 0.3% to trade at 1.2897.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock future indices pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.8%, S&P 500 futures pointed to a loss of 1%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a drop of 0.9% at the open.