Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose in line with expectations, holding near their lowest levels in nearly 45 years.
The number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending Feb. 10 increased by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 230,000 from the previous week’s total of 223,000, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
Analysts expected jobless claims to rise by 7,000 to 230,000 last week.
The four-week moving average was 228,500, up 3,500 from the previous week. The monthly average is seen as a more accurate gauge of labor trends because it reduces volatility in the week-to-week data.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended Feb. 3 inched up to 1.942 million from 1.927 million in the preceding week, compared to expectations for a drop to 1.925 million.