First-time claims for U.S. unemployment claims edged down from an upwardly revised level in the week ended November 4th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 217,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 220,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 218,000 from the 217,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 212,250, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 210,750.
