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With the more closely watched monthly jobs report looming, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by more than expected in the week ended January 4th.
The report said initial jobless claims dropped to 214,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 223,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 220,000 from the 222,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the four-week moving average also slid to 224,000, a decrease of 9,500 from the previous week's revised average of 233,500.
The less volatile four-week moving average pulled back after hitting its highest level since January of 2018 in the previous week.
