Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell more than expected last week, remaining in territory consistent with a strengthening labor market, official data showed on Thursday.
The Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending September 12 decreased by 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 264,000 from the previous week’s total of 275,000.
Continuing jobless claims fell to 2.237 million from 2.263 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 2.260 million.
The four-week moving average was 272,500 down from the previous week’s total of 275,250.
The monthly average is seen as a more accurate gauge of labor trends because it reduces volatility in the week-to-week data.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 95.33, compared to 95.31 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow futures pointed to a drop of 0.23%, the S&P 500 futures shed 0.26%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.19%.