The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims decreased by 9,000 last week, falling to 215,000, according to data from the US Labor Department released on Thursday.
The claims were down from the previous week’s revised figure of 224,000 and were also below market expectations, which had forecast 225,000 claims.
The four-week moving average of initial jobless claims was 220,750, a decrease of 2,500 from the previous week's revised figure of 223,250.
In March, the US economy added 228,000 jobs, surpassing forecasts that had predicted a gain of 137,000 jobs. Despite this, the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 4.2% in March, up from 4.1% in February.
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