The data from
the Labour Department revealed on
Thursday that the number of applications for unemployment fell much more than expected last week.
According to
the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits declined by 16,000 to 207,000 for the week that ended January 25. This marked the lowest reading in three weeks.
Economists had expected
220,000 new claims last week.
Claims for the
prior week were left unrevised at 223,000.
Meanwhile, the
four-week moving average of jobless claims decreased to 212,500 from an unrevised 213,500 the previous week. This represented
the lowest count since the week ended April 27, 2024 (210,250).
As for
continuing claims, they dropped to 1,858,000 from an upwardly revised
1,900,000 (from 1,899,000) in the previous week. Economists had forecast continuing jobless claims of 1,890,000.