Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell more-than-expected, adding to 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 21 declined by 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 338,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 35,000 to 345,000 last week from the previous week’s revised total of 380,000, which was the highest since March.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended December 14 rose to 2.923 million from 2.877 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 2.827 million.
The four-week moving average was 348,000, an increase of 4,250 from the previous week's average of 343,750. 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 modestly lower against the euro, with EUR/USD adding 0.1% to trade at 1.3696.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.3%, S&P 500 futures indicated an increase of 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a rise 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 21 declined by 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 338,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 35,000 to 345,000 last week from the previous week’s revised total of 380,000, which was the highest since March.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended December 14 rose to 2.923 million from 2.877 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 2.827 million.
The four-week moving average was 348,000, an increase of 4,250 from the previous week's average of 343,750. 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 modestly lower against the euro, with EUR/USD adding 0.1% to trade at 1.3696.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.3%, S&P 500 futures indicated an increase of 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a rise of 0.2%.