U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Edge Lower

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower in the week ended September 21st.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims slipped to 218,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level of 222,000.

The dip surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to rise to 225,000 from the 219,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With the unexpected decrease, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 216,000 in the week ended May 18th.