[ForexNews]

Initial jobless claims inched up by 7,000 to 480,000, above consensus expectations of 465,000. However, despite the disappointing gain in claims, the four-week moving average still edged lower to 468,000 from 473,000, showing an improving trend. The four-week moving average has fallen to the lowest level since September 20, 2008. Continuing jobless claims ticked up by 5,000 to 5.186mn after plunging by 289,000 the prior week. While the number of people receiving state unemployment insurance (normal 26 weeks) has declined markedly, the number receiving additional federal benefits continues to rise. Both extended benefits and emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) ticked higher, although weekly changes are difficult to interpret since the data are not seasonally adjusted. The Labor Department reported that 17 states are now paying extended benefits in the third tier of the EUC program (Note: there are four tiers of the EUC program in addition to the Extended Benefits program, offering up to 99 total weeks of benefits).