Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose to the highest level in more than two months, dampening optimism over the U.S. labor market, 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 December 7 increased by 68,000 to a seasonally adjusted 368,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to rise by 20,000 to 320,000 last week from the previous week’s revised total of 300,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended November 30 rose to 2.791 million from 2.751 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 2.750 million.
The four-week moving average was 328,750, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's average of 322,750.
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 0.07% to trade at 1.3776.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.15%, S&P 500 futures indicated a drop of 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a decline of 0.1%.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending December 7 increased by 68,000 to a seasonally adjusted 368,000.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to rise by 20,000 to 320,000 last week from the previous week’s revised total of 300,000.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended November 30 rose to 2.791 million from 2.751 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 2.750 million.
The four-week moving average was 328,750, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's average of 322,750.
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 0.07% to trade at 1.3776.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.15%, S&P 500 futures indicated a drop of 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a decline of 0.1%.