The data from
the Labour Department showed on
Thursday the number of applications for unemployment dropped more than forecast last week.
According to
the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 8,000 to 215,000
for the week that ended May 18. This was the
lowest weekly total in three weeks.
Economists had expected
215,000 new claims last week.
Claims for the prior week were revised upwardly to 223,000 from
the original estimate of 222,000.
Meanwhile, the
four-week moving average of jobless claims jumped to 219,750 compared to an upwardly revised 218,000 (from 217,750) in the
previous week. This marked the highest count since the week ended September 16, 2023 (224,750).
As for continuing claims, they climbed to 1,794,000, compared to a downwardly revised 1,786,000 (from 1,794,000) in the previous week.
This represented the highest reading in five weeks.