Investing.com – The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose unexpectedly, 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 April 23 rose by 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 429K, up from 404K in the preceding week, whose figure was revised up from 403K.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall to 390K.
The report showed that continuing jobless claims in the week ended April 16 fell more-than-expected, declining to 3.641 million, down from a revised 3.709 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing jobless claims to fall to 3.680 million.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar was down against the euro, with EUR/USD gaining 0.14% to hit 1.4810.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was downbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a drop of 0.24%, S&P 500 futures indicated a loss of 0.32%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures retreated 0.27%.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending April 23 rose by 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 429K, up from 404K in the preceding week, whose figure was revised up from 403K.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall to 390K.
The report showed that continuing jobless claims in the week ended April 16 fell more-than-expected, declining to 3.641 million, down from a revised 3.709 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing jobless claims to fall to 3.680 million.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar was down against the euro, with EUR/USD gaining 0.14% to hit 1.4810.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was downbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a drop of 0.24%, S&P 500 futures indicated a loss of 0.32%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures retreated 0.27%.