Investing.com – New claims for jobless benefits in the United States fell further than expected last week, official data showed Thursday, in a sign that layoffs may be waning as the world's largest economy slowly recovers.
According to the U.S. Labor Department, initial claims for unemployment insurance fell 29,000 to a seasonally adjusted 469,000 in the week ending Feb. 27.
Economists had expected a smaller drop to 475,000 from the previous week's figure, which the department revised up from 496,000 to 498,000.
Also Thursday, the department reported that U.S. nonfarm productivity unexpectedly increased at a 6.9% annual rate, revised up from the 6.2% reported a month ago.
In the wake of the data, the U.S. dollar rose against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.21% to hit 1.3668.