Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell unexpectedly, 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 November 3 fell by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 355,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 7,000 to 370,000.
Jobless claims rose by 363,000 in the preceding week.
Jobless claims have remained below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in 52 of the past 54 weeks.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended October 26 fell to 3.127 million from a revised 3.262 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 3.253 million.
The four-week moving average was 370,500, an increase of 3,250 from the previous week's revised average of 367,250.
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 higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.31% to trade at 1.2733.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures added to mild gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to an increase of 0.2% at the open, S&P 500 futures indicated a gain of 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.35% advance.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending November 3 fell by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 355,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 7,000 to 370,000.
Jobless claims rose by 363,000 in the preceding week.
Jobless claims have remained below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in 52 of the past 54 weeks.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended October 26 fell to 3.127 million from a revised 3.262 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 3.253 million.
The four-week moving average was 370,500, an increase of 3,250 from the previous week's revised average of 367,250.
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 higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.31% to trade at 1.2733.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures added to mild gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to an increase of 0.2% at the open, S&P 500 futures indicated a gain of 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.35% advance.