New filings for U.S. unemployment benefits declined marginally in the week ended January 24, according to a report released Thursday by the Labor Department.
Initial jobless claims edged down to 209,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the prior week’s upwardly revised figure of 210,000.
Economists had been expecting claims to increase to around 205,000, compared with the 200,000 initially reported for the previous period.
The less volatile four-week moving average, which smooths out weekly fluctuations, ticked higher to 206,250, rising by 2,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 204,000.