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.
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.
The report also said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, fell by 37,000 to 1.841 million in the week ended April 12th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims also slipped to 1,864,000, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 1,865,500.