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 2,000 to 222,000 from the previous week's revised figure in the week ending Dec. 28, 2019, said the bureau.
The bureau also noted that the previous week's level was revised up from 222,000 to 224,000, reports Xinhua.
The four-week moving average of initial claims, a method to iron out data volatility, increased by 4,750 to 233,250, the highest level since Jan. 27, 2018, showed the report.
Besides, the previous week's average was revised up from 228,000 to 228,500, 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 labour 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.