First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back by more than expected in the week ended August 3rd, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 233,000, a decrease of 17,000 from the previous week's revised level of to 250,000.

The bigger than expected decline came a week after jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 258,000 in the week ended August 5, 2023.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 240,750, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average of 238,250.

Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also inched up by 6,000 to 1.875 million in the week ended July 27th, reaching the highest level since November 2021.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims also edged up to 1,862,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's revised average of 1,855,000. This is the highest level for this average since November 2021.

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