U.S. Jobless Claims Decrease Much More Than Expected To 206,000

(RTTNews) - First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by much more than expected in the week ended February 14th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims slid to 206,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week's revised level of 229,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to slip to 225,000 from the 227,000 originally reported for the previous week.

"The renewed decline in initial jobless claims back toward 200,000 is consistent with other signs that labor market conditions are stabilizing," said Michael Pearce, Chief U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics. "The labor market remains in a low-hire, low-fire equilibrium."

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 219,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average of 220,000.

Meanwhile, the report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, rose by 17,000 to 1.869 million in the week ended February 7th.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims also inched up to 1,845,250, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average of 1,844,250.

"Continued claims ticked higher in the week ended February 7, but the recent pattern of downward revisions persists," said Pearce. "Hiring remains subdued, but the stability in continued claims suggests conditions are not deteriorating."