Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose less than expected, remaining in territory consistent with a strengthening labor market, official data showed on Thursday.
The number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending May 20 increased by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 234,000 from the previous week’s total of 233,000, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
Analysts expected jobless claims to rise to 238,000 last week.
The four-week moving average was 235,250, down 5,750 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 rose to 1.923 million from 1.899 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing claims to inch up to 1.925 million.
USD/JPY was at 111.75 from around 111.80 ahead of the release of the data, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1210 from around 1.1206 earlier, while GBP/USD was at 1.2953 from 1.2950.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 97.08, compared to 97.11 ahead of the report.