US jobless claims unexpectedly fall
Initial jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 227,000 last week, the US Department of Labor said today, July 9.
This came against expectations of a 235,000-rise, from the previous week's revised figure of 232,000 (-1,000 claims).
The four-week moving average of jobless claims also dropped by 5,750 to 235,500, compared to the previous week's revised average of 241,250 (-250).
These figures reflected the continued resilience of the US labor market, especially following last month's pullback in the unemployment rate to 4.1% and a better-than-expected hike in job creation of 147,000. However, the gains were concentrated in certain sectors.
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