The data from
the Labour Department revealed on Thursday that the number of applications for
unemployment unexpectedly decreased last week.
According to
the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped by 6,000 to 213,000 for the week that ended November 16. This
was the lowest weekly total since the week that ended April 27 (209,000).
Economists had anticipated
220,000 new claims last week.
Claims for the prior week were revised upwardly to 219,000
from the original estimate of 217,000.
Meanwhile, the
four-week moving average of jobless claims declined to 217,750 from an upwardly revised 221,500 (from 221,000) in the previous week. This represented the lowest count since early May.
As for
continuing claims, they jumped to 1,908,000 from a downwardly revised
1,872,000 (from 1,873,000) in the previous week. This marked the highest
reading since late mid-November 2021. Economists
had predicted continuing jobless claims of 1,870,000.