A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits dropped more than expected in the week ended May 11th.
The report said initial jobless claims slid to 212,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 228,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 220,000.
On the other hand, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average climbed to 225,000, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 220,250.
A reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance known as continuing claims fell by 28,000 to 1.660 million in the week ended May 4th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims still edged up to 1,668,250, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 1,666,750.
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