(RTTNews) - A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday unexpectedly showed a modest pullback in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 13th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 250,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level of 252,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 265,000 from the 262,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The report showed the less volatile four-week moving average also dipped to 246,750, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 249,500.
