A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased by more than expected in the week ended April 9th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 185,000, an increase of 18,000 from the previous week's revised level of 167,000.
Economists had expected initial jobless claims to edged up to 171,000 from the 166,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The report showed the less volatile four-week moving average also inched up to 172,250, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised average of 170,250.
