Initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits dropped by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 221,000 in the week that ended May 26 from an unrevised level of 234,000 last week, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
The four-week moving average rose by 2,500 to 222,250 from 219,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remained flat at 1.2% for the week that ended May 19. Insured unemployment fell by 16,000 to 1,726,000, from the previous week's level of 1,742,000, which was revised up.
