With the more closely watched monthly jobs report looming, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 31st.
The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 227,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous weeks revised level of 232,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 230,000 from the 231,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 230,000, a decrease of 1,750 from the previous weeks revised average of 231,750.