First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest decrease in the week ended April 2nd, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report showed initial jobless claims dipped to 166,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level of 171,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 200,000 from the 202,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 170,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised average of 178,000.
