2020.11.1212:36:00UTC+00U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Drop More Than Expected

A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a bigger than expected decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended November 7th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 709,000, a decrease of 48,000 from the previous week's revised level of 757,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 735,000 from the 751,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also slid to 755,250, a decrease of 33,250 from the previous week's revised average of 788,500.