First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged up by less than expected in the week ended September 9th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims crept up to 220,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 217,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 225,000 from the 216,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 224,500, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised average of 229,500.
