The number of people filing new claims for US unemployment benefits fell 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 376,000 last week, the US government said today.
Market economists had been forecasting a decline of just 4,000.
A four-week average of initial jobless claims dropped 7,750 to a seasonally adjusted 379,000, the lowest level since March last year, the Labor Department said. In raw figures, claims fell 17,049 to 321,185 last week, the government said.
The number of people in the existing jobless pool - those claiming benefits for two weeks or more - rose 51,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.53 million in the week to July 27th, the latest date for which those figures are available.
In the week to July 27th, the number of initial jobless claims rose 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 391,000, revised figures showed.
AFP
