First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest decline in the week ended May 3rd, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 228,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 241,000.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average inched up to 227,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 226,000.
The report also said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, fell by 29,000 to 1.879 million in the week ended April 29th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims still rose to 1,874,500, an increase of 8,750 from the previous week's revised average of 1,865,750.