Initial jobless claims in the United States for the week ending May 21 declined by 8,000 to 210,000, the US Department of Labor said on Thursday.
The 4-week moving average was 206,750, an increase of 7,250 from the previous week's unrevised average.
The insured unemployment rate for the week ending May 14 was 1%, 0.1 percentage points higher than the previous week, with the unemployment number at 1,346,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,347,500, down by 14,250 from the previous week's revised average.