US: Initial jobless claims fell less than expected

According to the weekly report released by the United States Department of Labor, in the week ending March 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 258,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 261,000. The 4-week moving average was 254,250, an increase of 7,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 246,500. 

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending March 11 was 2,322,025, a decrease of 69,526 from the previous week. There were 2,538,076 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2016.