U.S. Weekly Claims Unexpectedly Dip To 213,000

(RTTNews) - The Labor Department released a report on Thursday unexpectedly showing a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended November 16th

The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 213,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 219,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 220,000 from the 217,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With the unexpected dip, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 209,000 in the week ended April 27th.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 217,750, a decrease of 3,750 from the previous week's revised average of 221,500.