01.10.202012:36:00UTC+00U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Drop More Than Expected

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits declined by more than expected in the week ended September 26th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 837,000, a decrease of 36,000 from the previous week's revised level of 873,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 850,000 from the 870,000 originally reported for the previous week.

On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly employment report for September.

Economists expect employment to increase by about 850,000 jobs in September after jumping by 1.371 million jobs in August. The unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 8.2 percent from 8.4 percent.