U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Edge Modestly Lower

A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended April 14th.

The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 232,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 233,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 230,000.

Meanwhile, the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 231,250, an increase of 1,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 230,000.

The Labor Department noted claims taking procedures in Puerto Rico and in the Virgin Islands have still not returned to normal.

Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, fell by 15,000 to 1.863 million in the week ended April 7th.

The four-week moving average continuing claims still rose to 1,858,750, an increase of 6,750 from the previous week's revised average of 1,852,000.