The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications for U.S. unemployment benefits declined slightly in the week ended February 7.
Initial jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 227,000, down from the prior week’s revised total of 232,000. Economists had forecast a sharper drop to 220,000 from the originally reported 231,000.
At the same time, the less volatile four-week moving average — often viewed as a better gauge of underlying labor market trends — increased to 219,500. That marks a rise of 7,000 compared with the previous week’s revised average of 212,500.