Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell unexpectedly last week, remaining close to a five-year low, 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 March 2 fell by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 8,000 to 355,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to 347,000 from a previously reported gain of 344,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended February 23 rose to 3.094 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to rise to 3.110 million from last week’s revised figure of 3.091 million.
The four-week moving average was 348,750, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised average of 355,750.
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 lower against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.34% to trade at 1.3011.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures held on to modest gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to an increase of 0.25% at the open, S&P 500 futures indicated a gain of 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.2% advance.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending March 2 fell by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 8,000 to 355,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to 347,000 from a previously reported gain of 344,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended February 23 rose to 3.094 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to rise to 3.110 million from last week’s revised figure of 3.091 million.
The four-week moving average was 348,750, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised average of 355,750.
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 lower against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.34% to trade at 1.3011.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures held on to modest gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to an increase of 0.25% at the open, S&P 500 futures indicated a gain of 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.2% advance.