(RTTNews) - The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended February 7th.
The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 227,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level of 232,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to fall to 220,000 from the 231,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average rose to 219,500, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's revised average of 212,500.
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