US initial jobless claims drop by 23,000

(Sharecast News) - Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace in the week ended 14 February, according to the Labor Department. Initial jobless claims decreased by 23,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level to 206,000, while outstanding claims, on the other hand, increased by 17,000 to 1.86m.

The four week moving everage, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, dropped by 1,000 to 219,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate came to 1.2%, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised reading.





Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com