The Labor Department said initial jobless claims slipped to 216,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 222,000.

With the unexpected dip, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting a matching number in the week ended April 12th.

The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 223,750, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average of 224,750.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, rose by 7,000 to 1.960 million in the week ended November 15th.

The previous week's level of continuing claims was downwardly revised by 21,000 to 1.953 million from the 1.974 million originally reported.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims crept up to 1,955,750, an increase of 750 from the previous week's revised average of 1,955,000.

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