Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. rose more than expected last week, but remained 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 26 rose by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 277,000 from the previous week’s total of 267,000.
Continuing jobless claims fell to 2.191 million from 2.244 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 2.236 million.
The four-week moving average was 270,750 down from the previous week’s total of 271,750.
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 96.41, compared to 96.47 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow futures pointed to an increase of 0.28%, the S&P 500 futures added 0.24%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.37%.