First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly showed another modest decrease in the week ended January 21st, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 186,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 192,000
The dip surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to rise to 205,000 from the 190,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 197,500, a decrease of 9,250 from the previous week's revised average of 206,750.
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