The data from
the Labour Department revealed on
Thursday the number of applications for unemployment unexpectedly decreased last week.
According to
the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits declined by
8,000 to 212,000 for the week ended February
10. This represented the lowest weekly total in four
weeks.
Economists had forecast
220,000 new claims last week.
Claims for the prior week
were revised upwardly to 220,000 from the original estimate of 218,000.
Meanwhile, the
four-week moving average of jobless claims climbed to 218,500 from an upwardly revised 212,250 (from 212,250)
in the previous week. This was the highest count since the week ended December 2, 2023 (221.000).
As for
continuing claims, they jumped to 1,895,000 from a downwardly revised 1,865,000
(from 1,871,000) in the previous week. This marked the highest reading since the week
ended November 18, 2023 (1,925,000). Economists had predicted continuing jobless claims of 1,880,000.