Investing.com – The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell less-than-expected, 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 7 fell by 44,000 to a seasonally adjusted 434K, down from 478K in the preceding week, whose figure was revised up from 474K.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall to 430K.
The report showed that continuing jobless claims in the week ended April 30 rose unexpectedly, increasing to 3.756 million, up from a revised 3.751 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing jobless claims to fall to 3.685 million.
Following the release of the data the U.S. dollar was up against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.18% to hit 1.4165.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was broadly lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.4%, S&P 500 futures indicated a drop of 0.45%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a decline of 0.6%.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending May 7 fell by 44,000 to a seasonally adjusted 434K, down from 478K in the preceding week, whose figure was revised up from 474K.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall to 430K.
The report showed that continuing jobless claims in the week ended April 30 rose unexpectedly, increasing to 3.756 million, up from a revised 3.751 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing jobless claims to fall to 3.685 million.
Following the release of the data the U.S. dollar was up against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.18% to hit 1.4165.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was broadly lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.4%, S&P 500 futures indicated a drop of 0.45%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a decline of 0.6%.