First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by more than expected in the week ended May 13th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims slid to 242,000, a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 264,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 254,000.
The bigger than expected drop came after jobless claims reached their highest level since the week ended October 30, 2021 in the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 244,250, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 245,250.
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