U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Decrease

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday unexpectedly showed a modest decline in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 22nd.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dipped to 203,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level of 207,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 208,000 from the 206,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 205,500, an increase of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average of 204,250.