Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell more than expected, hitting the lowest level since December 1969, official data showed on Thursday.
The number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ended July 14 declined by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 207,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 215,000, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
Analysts expected jobless claims to rise by 5,000 to 220,000 last week.
The four-week moving average was 220,500, down 2,750 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 July 7 rose to 1.751 million from 1.743 million in the preceding week, compared to expectations for a decrease to 1.730 million.
The report underlined expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates two more times this year.