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U.S. initial jobless claims fall to five-week low

Xinhua, March 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

The number of Americans initially applying for unemployment aid last week decreased to a five-week low, echoing an improving job market.

In the week ending March 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for jobless benefits fell to 282,000, 9,000 less than the revised level of the previous week, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday.

The data was better than the average market expectation of 290,000.

There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims, said the Labor Department.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average, which helps smooth out week-to-week volatility, edged down by 7,750 to 297,000 last week.

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 14 decreased 6,000 from the previous week to 2,416,000.

The U.S. economy added 295,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent, the lowest level since May 2008, the Labor Department reported earlier this month. Endi