Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell more than expected and as the labor market strengthens, official data showed on Wednesday.
The number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending November 24 fell by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 238,000 from the previous week’s total of 240,000, which was revised up from 239,000, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to fall to 240,000 last week.
The four-week moving average was 242,250, up 2,250 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 edged up to 1.957 million from 1.915 million in the preceding week, which was revised down from 1.904 million.