The Labor Department released a report on Thursday unexpectedly showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended July 22nd.
The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 221,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 228,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 235,000.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 233,750, a decrease of 3,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 237,500.
