US initial jobless claims decline from previous week

The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell 19,000 to 793,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Analysts expected 757,000 for the week ending Feb. 6, while the previous week's number was revised up by 33,000 from 779,000 to 812,000.

There are still 10.1 million jobless Americans since the coronavirus pandemic-hit US economy shed 22 million jobs in March and April.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the US economy is far from having a strong job market and that the central bank wants to sustain a robust job market without causing an unwanted increase in inflation.

After closing Wednesday mixed, US stocks were headed for a higher opening Thursday.

Dow Jones and the S&P 500 futures were up 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively, while the Nasdaq was up 0.5%.