Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week declined significantly 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 October 6 fell by 30,000 to a seasonally adjusted 339,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 1,000 to 370,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 369,000 from a previously reported 367,000.
Jobless claims have remained below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in 48 of the past 50 weeks.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended September 29 fell to 3.273 million from a revised 3.288 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 3.275 million.
The four-week moving average was 364,000, a decrease of 11,500 from the previous week's revised average of 375,500.
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 held on to losses against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.38% to trade at 1.2925.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures remained higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.35% at the open, S&P 500 futures indicated a gain of 0.5%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled an increase 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 October 6 fell by 30,000 to a seasonally adjusted 339,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 1,000 to 370,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 369,000 from a previously reported 367,000.
Jobless claims have remained below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in 48 of the past 50 weeks.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended September 29 fell to 3.273 million from a revised 3.288 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 3.275 million.
The four-week moving average was 364,000, a decrease of 11,500 from the previous week's revised average of 375,500.
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 held on to losses against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.38% to trade at 1.2925.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures remained higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.35% at the open, S&P 500 futures indicated a gain of 0.5%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled an increase of 0.6%.