Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. rose unexpectedly, while the previous week’s figure was revised down, 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 January 5 rose by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 371,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 2,000 to 365,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised down to 367,000 from a previously reported 372,000,
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended December 29 fell to 3.109 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 3.230 million from last week’s revised figure of 3.236 million.
The four-week moving average was 365,750, an increase of 6,750 from the previous week's revised average of 359,000.
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 remained lower against the euro, with EUR/USD adding 0.42% to trade at 1.3122.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures were little higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.3% at the open, S&P 500 futures indicated a gain of 0.4%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.6% increase.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending January 5 rose by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 371,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 2,000 to 365,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised down to 367,000 from a previously reported 372,000,
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended December 29 fell to 3.109 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 3.230 million from last week’s revised figure of 3.236 million.
The four-week moving average was 365,750, an increase of 6,750 from the previous week's revised average of 359,000.
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 remained lower against the euro, with EUR/USD adding 0.42% to trade at 1.3122.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures were little higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.3% at the open, S&P 500 futures indicated a gain of 0.4%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.6% increase.