U.S. initial jobless claims fall by 5,000 to 343,000 last week

The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell broadly in line with market expectations last week, official data showed on Wednesday. 

In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending June 29 fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 343,000, compared to expectations for a drop of 3,000 to 345,000.

Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to a gain of 348,000, from a previously reported 346,000.

Continuing jobless claims in the week ended June 22 fell to 2.933 million. Analysts had expected continuing claims to decline to 2.953 million from last week’s revised figure of 2.987 million.

The four-week moving average was 345,500. The monthly average is seen as a more accurate gauge of labor trends because it reduces volatility in the week-to-week data.

Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar held on to gains against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.07% to trade at 1.2969.

Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures remained lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a loss of 0.2% at the open, S&P 500 futures pointed to a drop of 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a decline of 0.2% at the open.