First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back by more than expected in the week ended March 11th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims fell to 192,000, a decrease of 20,000 from the previous week's revised level of 212,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to slip to 205,000 from the 211,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 196,500, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average of 197,250.
