Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. rose less-than-expected last week, 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 September 28 increased by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 308,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to a gain of 307,000 from a previously reported increase of 305,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to rise by 6,000 to 313,000 last week.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended September 21 rose to 2.925 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 2.810 million from last week’s revised figure of 2.821 million.
The four-week moving average was 305,000, a decline of 3,750 from the previous week's revised average of 308,750.
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 held on to losses against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.16% to trade at 1.3601.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.1%, S&P 500 futures indicated a loss of 0.15%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.1% decline.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending September 28 increased by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 308,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to a gain of 307,000 from a previously reported increase of 305,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to rise by 6,000 to 313,000 last week.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended September 21 rose to 2.925 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 2.810 million from last week’s revised figure of 2.821 million.
The four-week moving average was 305,000, a decline of 3,750 from the previous week's revised average of 308,750.
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 held on to losses against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.16% to trade at 1.3601.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.1%, S&P 500 futures indicated a loss of 0.15%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.1% decline.