U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Drop Much More Than Expected

(RTTNews) - The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by much more than expected in the week ended April 25th.

The report said initial jobless claims slid to 189,000, a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week's revised level of 215,000.

Economists had expected initial jobless claims to edge down to 212,000 from the 214,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 207,500, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average of 211,000.