U.S. jobless claims fell by 12,000 last week

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. workers signing up for first-time jobless benefits fell unexpectedly last week, government data on Thursday showed, pointing to a steady labor market even as the economy cools.

Initial jobless claims fell by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 318,000 for the week ended March 10, the Labor Department said. Analysts polled ahead of the report were expecting claims to hit 330,000. The prior week's level, 330,000, was revised up by 2,000 claims.

A Labor Department official said there were no special factors leading to the unexpected decline in initial claims.

The four-week moving average, considered a more reliable measure of employment conditions because it irons out the weekly fluctuations in this volatile data, dropped by 10,250 to 329,250.

The number of workers remaining on unemployment benefits rose by 48,000 to 2.576 million, for the week ended March 3, the most recent week these data were available. That was close to the 2.54 million continued claims analysts were expecting.