Mumbai, March 17 -- A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday unexpectedly showed a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended March 8th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 220,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level of 222,000.
Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 226,000, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 224,500.
The Labor Department also said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, fell by 27,000 to 1.870 million in the week ended March 1st.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims still r...