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A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 18th.
The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 210,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 212,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 215,000.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also dipped to 213,750, a decrease of 1,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 215,500.
Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also slipped by 2,000 to 1.727 million in the week ended August 11th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims fell to 1,735,500, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised average of 1,740,500.
