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The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended October 19th.
The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 212,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 218,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 215,000 from the 214,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 215,000, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average of 215,750.
