Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. rose more-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 May 11 rose by 32,000 to a seasonally adjusted 360,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 2,000 to 330,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to 328,000 from a previously reported increase of 323,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended May 4 fell to 3.009 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to drop to 3.000 million from last week’s revised figure of 3.013 million.
The four-week moving average was 339,250, an increase of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average of 338,000.
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 turned lower against the euro, with EUR/USD jumping 0.21% to trade at 1.2915.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock future indices erased modest gains to turn mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.1%, S&P 500 futures pointed to a loss of 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to an increase of 0.1% at the open.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending May 11 rose by 32,000 to a seasonally adjusted 360,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 2,000 to 330,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to 328,000 from a previously reported increase of 323,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended May 4 fell to 3.009 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to drop to 3.000 million from last week’s revised figure of 3.013 million.
The four-week moving average was 339,250, an increase of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average of 338,000.
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 turned lower against the euro, with EUR/USD jumping 0.21% to trade at 1.2915.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock future indices erased modest gains to turn mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.1%, S&P 500 futures pointed to a loss of 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to an increase of 0.1% at the open.