U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Edge Down To 220,000

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday unexpectedly showed a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended March 8th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 220,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level of 222,000.

The dip surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to inch up to 225,000 from the 221,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 226,000, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 224,500.

The Labor Department also said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, fell by 27,000 to 1.870 million in the week ended March 1st.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims still rose to 1,872,250, an increase of 6,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 1,866,000.

A more closely watched report released by the Labor Department last Friday showed employment in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of February.

The report said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 151,000 jobs in February after rising by a downwardly revised 125,000 jobs in January.

Economists had expected employment to grow by 160,000 jobs compared to the addition of 143,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The Labor Department also said the unemployment crept up to 4.1 percent in February from 4.1 percent in January, while economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.