New unemployment claims in the U.S. fell to a lower level than most experts had expected, according to figures released Thursday by the Labor Department.
For the week ended January 28th, the Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment came in at a seasonally adjusted level of 367,000. That marks a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 379,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 370,000 from the 377,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Labor Department officials said that seasonal factors had predicted a 2.9 percent increase in new claims, but they actually saw a 0.4 percent decline. However, they cautioned that the week-to-week figures have shown a great deal of volatility in recent weeks.
The four-week moving average of initial claims, a figure that reduces some of the week-to-week fluctuations, fell by 2,000 to 375,750 from the previous week's revised average of 377,750.
Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak, said, "Bottom line, the labor market continues to improve, albeit at a still modest pace but a pace nonetheless."
Most economists believe that for the unemployment rate to drop significantly, new jobless claims must remain below 400,000 for an extended period. More comprehensive figures on the unemployment rate and job creation are due to be released Friday.
The number of people on the unemployment rolls, a figure known as continuing claims, fell by 130,000 to 3.437 million in the week ended January 21st from the previous week's revised level of 3.567 million.
That comes in below the 3.538 million expected by most economists.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims fell 43,000 to 3,527,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,570,500.
Friday morning, the Labor Department is due to release its closely watched monthly employment report. Economists expect employment to increase by about 150,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 8.5 percent.
The Labor Department said employment increased by 200,000 jobs in December, pushing the unemployment rate down to a nearly three-year low.
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