Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell more than expected, remaining at the lowest levels in 49 years, official data showed on Thursday.
The report underlined expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates two more times this year, with the next move higher coming at its meeting next week.
The number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ended Sept. 15 decreased by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 201,000 from the previous week’s total of 204,000, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
Analysts expected jobless claims to rise by 6,000 to 210,000 last week.
The four-week moving average was 205,750, down 2,250 from the previous week. The monthly average is seen as a more accurate gauge of labor trends because it reduces volatility in the week-to-week data.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended Sept. 8 fell to 1.645 million from 1.700 million in the preceding week, compared to expectations for an increase to 1.705 million.