U.S. filings for unemployment benefits retreated substantially last week after climbing to a nearly four-year high one week earlier, according to the Associated Press.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of Americans applying for jobless aid for the week ending Sept. 13 fell by 33,000 to 231,000 — less than the 241,000 analysts had forecast.
The prior week, applications soared to 264,000 — the highest since late last October.
The four-week average of claims, which evens out some week-to-week volatility, fell by 750 to 240,000.
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The total number of U.S. filings for unemployment benefits for the week of Sept. 6 fell by 7,000 to 1.92 million.
