US initial jobless claims unexpectedly fall by 9,000

(Sharecast News) - Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace in the week ended 12 April, according to the Department of Labor. Initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell by 9,000 to 215,000 last week, the lowest reading in more than two months, with analysts actually expecting to see an increase of 1,000.

Continuing claims rose by 41,000 to 1.88m, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, decreased by 2,500 to 220,750.

Also of note, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ended 5 April, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.







Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com