Investing.com - The number of people who filed for first-time unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose more than expected, but remained in territory consistent with a strengthening labor market, official data showed on Thursday.
The report underlined expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates two more times this year.
The number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ended July 21 increased by 9,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 217,000, up from the previous week’s revised total of 208,000, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
Analysts expected jobless claims to rise by 7,000 to 215,000 for last week.
The four-week moving average was 218,000, down 2,750 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 July 14 declined to 1.745 million from 1.753 million in the preceding week, compared to expectations for a decrease to 1.730 million.