First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged slightly lower in the week ended August 24th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 231,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 233,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 232,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also dipped to 231,500, a decrease of 4,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 236,250.
The Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing the U.S. economy unexpectedly grew by more than previously estimated in the second quarter.
The report said the surge by gross domestic product in the second quarter was upwardly revised to 3.0 percent from the previously reported 2.8 percent. Economists had expected the pace of GDP growth to be unrevised.
With the upward revision, the pace of GDP growth in the second quarter showed an even faster acceleration compared to the 1.4 percent jump in the first quarter.
At 10 am ET, the National Association of Realtors is due to release its report on pending home sales in the month of July. Pending home sales are expected to increase by 0.4 percent in July after surging by 4.8 percent in June.
The Treasury Department scheduled due to announce the results of this month’s auction of $44 billion worth of seven-year notes at 1 pm ET.