U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Edge Lower

(RTTNews) - 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 July 12th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 221,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level of 228,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 235,000 from the 227,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 229,500, a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week's revised average of 235,750.