Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell more than expected last week, pointing to a strengthening labor market, official data showed on Thursday.
The Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending October 3 fell by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 263,000 from the previous week’s downwardly revised total of 276,000.
Continuing jobless claims ticked up to 2.204 million from 2.195 million in the preceding week. Analysts had expected continuing claims to increase to 2.205 million.
The four-week moving average was 267,500 down from the previous week’s total of 270,755.
The monthly average is seen as a more accurate gauge of labor trends because it reduces volatility in the week-to-week data.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 95.63, little changed from 95.62 ahead of the report.