U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Inch Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged modestly higher in the week ended April 19th.

The report said initial jobless claims crept up to 222,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 216,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 221,000 from the 215,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 220,250, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average of 221,000