First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly showed a modest decrease in the week ended September 3rd, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report showed initial jobless claims edged down to 222,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 228,000
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 240,000 from the 232,000 originally reported for the previous week.
With the unexpected dip, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 202,000 in the week ended May 28th.
