Investing.com – The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose unexpectedly for the second consecutive 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 April 30 rose by 43,000 to a seasonally adjusted 474K, up from 431K in the preceding week, whose figure was revised up from 429K.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall to 400K.
The report showed that continuing jobless claims in the week ended April 23 rose unexpectedly, increasing to 3.733 million, up from a revised 3.659 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing jobless claims to fall to 3.638 million.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar was up against the euro, with EUR/USD slumping 0.64% to hit 1.4732.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was downbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a drop of 0.45%, S&P 500 futures indicated a loss of 0.63%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures retreated 0.51%.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending April 30 rose by 43,000 to a seasonally adjusted 474K, up from 431K in the preceding week, whose figure was revised up from 429K.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall to 400K.
The report showed that continuing jobless claims in the week ended April 23 rose unexpectedly, increasing to 3.733 million, up from a revised 3.659 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing jobless claims to fall to 3.638 million.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar was up against the euro, with EUR/USD slumping 0.64% to hit 1.4732.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was downbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a drop of 0.45%, S&P 500 futures indicated a loss of 0.63%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures retreated 0.51%.