A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday unexpectedly showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits dipped to their lowest level in nearly fifty years in the week ended September 15th.
The Labor Department said jobless claims edged down to 201,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 204,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 210,000.
With the unexpected decrease, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 197,000 in November of 1969.
The less volatile four-week moving average also dropped by 2,250 to 205,750, falling to its lowest level since December of 1969.
The report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also fell by 55,000 to 1.1645 million in the week ended September 8th.
The decrease pulled continuing claims down to their lowest level since hitting 1.633 million in August of 1973.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims also slid to a 45-year low of 1,691,500, a decrease of 20,750 from the previous week's revised average of 1,712,250.
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