FX.co ★ U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Climb Slightly More Than Expected

A day ahead of the release of the more closely watched monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by slightly more than expected in the week ended April 29th.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 242,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level of 229,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 240,000 from the 230,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also crept up to 239,250, an increase of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average of 235,750.