01.03.201808:37:00UTC+00U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Dip To 210,000

For the second consecutive week, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday unexpectedly showing a weekly decline in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 210,000 in the week ended February 24th, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level of 220,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 226,000 from the 222,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With the unexpected decrease, initial jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 202,000 in December of 1969.