Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell less than expected last week, but remained 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 ended October 27 decreased by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 214,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised total of 216,000, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
Analysts expected jobless claims to fall by 3,000 to 213,000 last week.
The four-week moving average was 213,750, an increase of 1,750 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 October 20 fell to 1.631 million from 1.638 million in the preceding week, compared to expectations for an increase to 1.640 million.