First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly saw a modest decrease in the week ended April 12th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 215,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 224,000.
With the unexpected dip, jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since matching level in the week ended February 8th.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 220,750, a decrease of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average of 223,250.
Meanwhile, the report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, climbed by 41,000 to 1.885 million in the week ended April 5th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims also inched up to 1,867,250, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average of 1,866,250.