Off the wire
• Chinese FM talks with German counterpart, vows to boost global growth together  • Stronger checks to be carried out at EU external borders  • 3rd LD Writethru: Over 70 killed in Pakistan shrine blast, IS claims attack  • Saudi-led coalition investigates airstrike claims in Yemen  • 1st LD Wrtiethru: 12 dead in roadside bomb blast in eastern Afghanistan  • British FTSE 100 decreases 0.34 pct on Thursday  • U.S. Senate confirms Trump's pick for White House budget director  • ISLAMABAD, 0216083, Urgent: 72 killed, 200 injured in Pakistan's shrine blast  • Tunisia announces visa exemption for Chinese tourists  • Libya requests NATO assistance for military training, supports  
You are here: 　 Home

U.S. initial jobless claims increase less than expectation

Xinhua, February 17, 2017 Adjust font size:

The number of Americans initially applying for unemployment aid rose to 239,000, lower than market expectation, a new signal that job market kept stable.

In the week ending Feb. 11, the advance figure of seasonally adjusted initial claims for jobless benefits was 239,000, an increase of 5,000 from the unrevised level of the previous week, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. This is lower than the market expectation of 245,000.

The four-week moving average, which helps smooth out week-to-week volatility increased 500 from the previous week's revised average to 245,250.

Meanwhile, the advance figure of seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 4 fell 3,000 from the previous week to 2,076,000.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that the U.S. economy has continued to make progress toward the maximum employment and price stability objectives.

The U.S. private sector added 246,000 jobs in January, the second highest level in a year, said the National Employment Report released jointly by Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Moody's Analytics earlier this month. Enditem