A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by more than expected in the week ended June 22nd.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dropped to 233,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week\'s revised level of 239,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 236,000 from the 238,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average rose to 236,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week\'s revised average of 233,000.
Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also climbed by 18,000 to 1.839 million in the week ended June 15th.
With the increase, continuing claims reached their highest level since hitting 1.878 million in the week ended November 27, 2021.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims also increased by 12,250 to 1,816,000, reaching the highest level since hitting 1,859,750 in the week ended December 4, 2021.