U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Decrease To 241,000

(RTTNews) - First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw an unexpected pullback in the week ended October 12th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 241,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised level of 260,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 260,000 from the 258,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average rose to 236,250, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average of 231,500.