U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Dip

(RTTNews) - 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 dipped to 215,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 224,000.

Economists had expected initial jobless claims to inch up to 225,000 from the 223,000 originally reported for the previous week.

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.