New claims for unemployment fell somewhat for the week but nevertheless remained slightly higher than predicted, according to figures released Thursday by the Labor Department.
The DOL put the level of initial unemployment claims at a seasonally adjusted level of 386,000 for the week ending June 23, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 392,000.
The decrease, however, comes after the previous week's level of new claims was revised up from the 387,000 initially reported.
Most economists had predicted a somewhat lower level of 385,000 new claims.
The four-week moving average of new unemployment claims, a figure that reduces some of the week-to-week fluctuations in the data, decreased only slightly, falling by 750 to 386,750 from the previous week's revised average of 387,500.