First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to a nearly four-month low in the week ended September 14th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims slid to 219,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous weeks revised level of 231,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 230,000 originally reported for the previous week.
With the unexpected decline, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 216,000 in the week ended May 18th.