Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week held steady, confounding expectations for a modest decline, 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 August 25 held steady at a seasonally adjusted 374,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 4,000 to 370,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 374,000 from a previously reported 372,000.
Jobless claims have remained below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in 42 of the past 44 weeks.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended August 18 fell to 3.316 million from a revised 3.321 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 3.307 million.
The four-week moving average was 370,250, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 368,750.
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 adding 0.17% to trade at 1.2551.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures held on to modest losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a drop of 0.25% at the open, S&P 500 futures indicated a decline of 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a drop of 0.35%.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending August 25 held steady at a seasonally adjusted 374,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 4,000 to 370,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 374,000 from a previously reported 372,000.
Jobless claims have remained below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in 42 of the past 44 weeks.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended August 18 fell to 3.316 million from a revised 3.321 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 3.307 million.
The four-week moving average was 370,250, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 368,750.
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 adding 0.17% to trade at 1.2551.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures held on to modest losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a drop of 0.25% at the open, S&P 500 futures indicated a decline of 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a drop of 0.35%.