A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday unexpectedly showed a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended February 25th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 190,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 192,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 195,000.
Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 193,000, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 191,250.
