U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Fall To 216,000

(RTTNews) - With the more closely watched monthly jobs report looming, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing an unexpected decline by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended October 26th.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 216,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level of 228,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 230,000 from the 227,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With the unexpected decrease, jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since hitting a matching figure in the week ended May 18th.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also dipped to 236,500, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average of 238,750.