U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Decrease

(RTTNews) - 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.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average rose to 218,500, an increase of 5,750 from the previous week's revised average of 212,750.