A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed an unexpected decline by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 10th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 227,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous weeks revised level of to 234,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 235,000 from the 233,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 236,500, a decrease of 4,500 from the previous weeks revised average of 241,000.