First-time jobless claims fall to 377,000, down 12,000; four-week average edges higher

The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell broadly in line with market expectations, official data showed on Thursday.

In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending June 2 fell by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 377,000, in line with expectations.

The previous week’s figure was revised up to 389,000 from a previously reported 383,000.
Jobless claims have remained below 400,000, a level historically associated with an improving labor market, in 30 of the past 32 weeks, though lately claims have been pushing higher from the 350,000 associated with above-average job growth.
Continuing jobless claims in the week ended May 26 rose to 3.293 million from an upwardly revised 3.259 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 3.245 million.
The four-week moving average was 377,750, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average of 376,000.

The monthly average is seen as a more accurate gauge of labor trends because it reduces volatility in the week-to-week data.

Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar remained modestly lower against the euro, with EUR/USD adding 0.18% to trade at 1.2604.

Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures held on to gains after the release of the data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to an increase of 0.55%, S&P 500 futures indicated a gain of 0.75%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.65% advance.