First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly declined in the week ended May 28th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report showed initial jobless claims fell to 200,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week's revised level of 211,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 210,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 206,500, a decrease of 500 from the previous week's revised average of 207,000.
