ANKARA
U.S. initial jobless claims dropped to 276,000 for the week ending May 30, down from a revised 284,000 in the previous week, the Labor Department said in a report on Thursday.
The number was slightly lower than economist consensus forecasts of 278,000.
This marks the 13th week in a row that first time requests for employment benefits come in below 300,000.
The four-week moving average rose to 274,750 from 272,000 the prior week.
The Federal Reserve has said that improving U.S. economic data would be a factor in a decision to raise interest rates.
