WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. workers filing initial claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell by 33,000 last week, the Labor Department said on Thursday, though the number of workers remaining on jobless benefits continued at a high level.þþInitial claims for jobless benefits decreased to a seasonally adjusted 342,000 in the week ended April 19, from a revised 375,000 in the prior week.þþAnalysts polled by Reuters had expected initial claims to edge up to 375,000 from an initially reported 372,000 in the April 12 week.þþThe four-week moving average of new claims, a more reliable guide to underlying labor trends because it irons out weekly fluctuations, fell last week to 369,500 from 376,750.þþThe number of workers remaining on jobless benefits eased to 2.934 million for the week ended April 12, the most recent week these figures were available, from 2.999 million the prior week. But it was the fourth straight week in which continuing claims remained above 2.9 million.þþAnalysts were expecting continuing claims to hit 3 million during the April 12 week.þþ(Reporting by Glenn Somerville, editing by Joanne Morrison)þþ
Source: NY Times
