The number of initial jobless claims in the United States dropped last week, according to a report released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday.
The number of people filing for US unemployment benefits decreased by 9,000 to 214,000 from the previous week's revised figure in the week ending Jan. 4, reports Xinhua citing the bureau report.
Meanwhile, the previous week's level was revised up from 222,000 to 223,000, the bureau noted.
The report also showed that the four-week moving average of initial claims, a method to iron out data volatility, decreased by 9,500 to 224,000.
Besides, the previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 233,250 to 233,500, said the bureau.
As an important leading indicator of unemployment status in the United States, a lower reading in jobless claims indicates lower overall layoffs.
The reading of jobless claims remained below the 300,000 threshold, signalling a tight labour market in the United States.
For a bigger picture of US labor market, US employers added 266,000 jobs in November 2019, and the unemployment rate dropped slightly to 3.5 per cent, the lowest in nearly five decades, the bureau reported on Dec. 6.
The US Labor Department is scheduled to release the unemployment rate of December 2019 on Jan. 10.