US: Initial weekly jobless claims decreased by 5,000 to 211,000

"In the week ending March 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 211,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level," the U.S. Department of Labor announced on Thursday.

Key takeaways from the press release

• The 4-week moving average was 217,250, a decrease of 3,250 from the previous week's revised average.
• The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending March 16.
• The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 16 was 1,756,000.