WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - First-claims for U.S. unemployment benefits showed a modest decrease in the week ended October 31st, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 751,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level of 758,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to drop to 732,000 from the 758,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also dipped to 787,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised average of 791,000.
Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, tumbled by 538,000 to 7.285 million in the week ended October 24th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims fell to 8,244,500, a decrease of 827,250 from the previous week's revised average of 9,071,750.
On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on employment in the month of October.
Employment is expected to increase by about 600,000 jobs in October after climbing by 661,000 jobs in September. The unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 7.7 percent from 7.9 percent.
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