Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. rose-less-than-expected last week, holding close to a five-year low, 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 March 17 rose by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 336,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 8,000 to 342,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to 334,000 from a previously reported gain of 332,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended March 10 rose to 3.053 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to increase to 3.050 million from last week’s revised figure of 3.048 million.
The four-week moving average was 339,750, a decrease of 7,500 from the previous week's revised average of 347,250.
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 held on to gains against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.16% to trade at 1.2916.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures remained mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to an increase of 0.1% at the open, S&P 500 futures indicated a flat open, 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 March 17 rose by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 336,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 8,000 to 342,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to 334,000 from a previously reported gain of 332,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended March 10 rose to 3.053 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to increase to 3.050 million from last week’s revised figure of 3.048 million.
The four-week moving average was 339,750, a decrease of 7,500 from the previous week's revised average of 347,250.
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 held on to gains against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.16% to trade at 1.2916.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures remained mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to an increase of 0.1% at the open, S&P 500 futures indicated a flat open, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.1% decline.