Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell more-than-expected, dropping to the lowest level since February 2008, 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 March 17 fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 348,000, beating expectations for a decline of 3,000 to 350,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 353,000 from 351,000.
Jobless claims have remained below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in 19 of the past 21 weeks.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended March 10 fell to 3.352 million from an upwardly revised 3.361 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to rise to 3.390 million.
The four-week moving average was 355,000, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average of 356,250. 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 added to gains against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.51% to trade at 1.3148.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock future indices held on to losses after the release of the data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a decline of 0.45%, S&P 500 futures pointed to a loss of 0.5%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a decrease of 0.4% at the open.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending March 17 fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 348,000, beating expectations for a decline of 3,000 to 350,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 353,000 from 351,000.
Jobless claims have remained below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in 19 of the past 21 weeks.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended March 10 fell to 3.352 million from an upwardly revised 3.361 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to rise to 3.390 million.
The four-week moving average was 355,000, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average of 356,250. 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 added to gains against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.51% to trade at 1.3148.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock future indices held on to losses after the release of the data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a decline of 0.45%, S&P 500 futures pointed to a loss of 0.5%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a decrease of 0.4% at the open.