2017.08.1709:21:00UTC+00U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Drop To Nearly Six-Month Low

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by more than anticipated in the week ended August 12th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims dropped to 232,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 244,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 240,000.

With the bigger than expected decrease, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 227,000 in the week ended February 25th.

The Labor Department also said the less volatile four-week moving average slipped to 240,500, a decrease of 500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 241,000.

Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, fell by 3,000 to 1.953 million in the week ended August 5th.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims also dropped to 1,960,250, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised average of 1,966,250.