U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Decrease Much More Than Expected

(RTTNews) - First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by much more than expected in the week ended February 14th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims slid to 206,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week's revised level of 229,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to slip to 225,000 from the 227,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 219,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average of 220,000.