A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended July 29th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims crept up to 227,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 221,000. The uptick in jobless claims matched economist estimates.
Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 228,250, a decrease of 5,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 233,750.
