A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday unexpectedly showed a slight decline by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended May 17th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 227,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 229,000. The dip surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to inch up to 230,000.
Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 231,500, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 230,500.
The Labor Department said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also climbed by 36,000 to 1.903 million in the week ended May 10th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims also rose to 1,887,500, an increase of 17,500 from the previous week's revised average of 1,870,000.
With the increase, the four-week moving average of continuing claims reached its highest level since November 2021.