The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a slight decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended April 16th.
The report showed initial jobless claims edged down to 184,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level of 186,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 180,000 from the 185,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average rose to 177,250, an increase of 4,500 from the previous week's revised average of 172,750.
