First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in unchanged in the week ended October 7th, the Labor Department revealed in a report released on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims came in at 209,000, unchanged compared to the previous week's revised level. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 210,000 from the 207,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 206,250, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average of 209,250.
