First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly declined in the week ended February 10th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims fell to 212,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 220,000.
Economists had expected initial jobless claims to inch up to 220,000 from the 218,000 originally reported for the previous week.
“Jobless claims continue to surprise to the downside despite an uptick in layoff announcements from major companies,” said Alex McGrath, Chief Investment Officer for NorthEnd Private Wealth.
He added, “One has to wonder if we are in a situation where we are trying to hold the ball under water until it eventually explodes to the upside.”
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average edged up to 218,500, an increase of 5,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 212,750.
Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also climbed by 30,000 to 1.895 million in the week ended February 3rd.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims also rose to 1,870,500, an increase of 22,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 1,848,250.
“After a brief dip around year-end, continued claims are again trending higher,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.
She added, “That would be consistent with other indicators, including in our Labor Market Tracker, showing that unemployed individuals are finding it slightly more difficult to find new jobs.”
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