U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Decrease

(RTTNews) - First time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower in the week ended March 28th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 202,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 211,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 212,000 from the 210,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 207,750, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average of 210,750.