U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Edge Lower

(RTTNews) - The Labor Department released a report on Thursday unexpectedly showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended July 4th.

The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 215,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level of 217,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 219,000 from the 215,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 218,750, a decrease of 3,750 from the previous week's revised average of 222,500.