U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Edge Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Labor Department released a report on Thursday unexpectedly showing a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 9th.

The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 224,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 227,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 228,000 from the 226,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 221,750, an increase of 750 from the previous week's revised average of 221,000.