Investing.com – The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell more-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 14 fell by 29,000 to a seasonally adjusted 409K, down from 438K in the preceding week, whose figure was revised up from 434K.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall to 420K.
The report showed that continuing jobless claims in the week ended May 7 fell more-than-expected, declining to 3.711 million, down from a revised 3.792 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing jobless claims to decline to 3.713 million.
Following the release of the data the U.S. dollar was up slightly against the euro, with EUR/USD easing down 0.02% to hit 1.4244.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures added to gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.37%, S&P 500 futures indicated an increase of 0.41%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.3%.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending May 14 fell by 29,000 to a seasonally adjusted 409K, down from 438K in the preceding week, whose figure was revised up from 434K.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall to 420K.
The report showed that continuing jobless claims in the week ended May 7 fell more-than-expected, declining to 3.711 million, down from a revised 3.792 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing jobless claims to decline to 3.713 million.
Following the release of the data the U.S. dollar was up slightly against the euro, with EUR/USD easing down 0.02% to hit 1.4244.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures added to gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.37%, S&P 500 futures indicated an increase of 0.41%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.3%.