US initial jobless claims come in at 196K vs 208K estimate - investingLive

US initial jobless claims fell by 10,000 to 196,000 , coming in comfortably below the 208,000 estimate . The four-week moving average also declined, suggesting the improvement was not solely the result of volatility in one reporting week. Continuing claims fell by 39,000 to 1.730 million , also beating expectations. In addition, the previous week was revised down to 1.769 million from 1.774 million . That combination points to fewer layoffs and some improvement in the ability of unemployed workers to find new positions. The unadjusted figures were also encouraging. Actual initial claims declined 13.9% , compared with the 9.3% decrease anticipated by seasonal factors. Unadjusted continuing claims were down 5.