A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday unexpectedly showed a slight decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended March 18th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims slipped to 191,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 192,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 201,000.
The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 196,250, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 196,500.
