US jobless claims unexpectedly fall

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, according to figures released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

Jobless claims were down 10,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level to 204,000. Economists had been expected an uptick to 216,000. Claims were down for the fifth week in a row.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average came in at 216,250, down 7,750 from the previous week’s unrevised average.

The four-week average is considered more reliable as it smooths out sharp fluctuations in the more volatile weekly figures, giving a more accurate picture of the health of the labour market.

Continuing claims - i.e. the number of people already collecting unemployment benefits - fell to 1.767m from a revised 1.804m and versus expectations for a level of 1.720m. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000.