In a glimmer of hope for the strained US labor market, the number of claims for unemployment benefits fell by 12,000 for the week ended May 16.
The jobless claims declined to 6,31,000 compared to 6,43,000 in the previous week, the US Labor Department said in a statement.
"In the week ending May 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 6,31,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 6,43,000," the statement noted.
The four-week moving average was 6,28,500, down 3,500 from the previous week's revised average of 6,32,000.
According to the data, the number of Americans getting jobless benefits rose by as much as 75,000 to 6,662,000 for the week ended May 9.
"The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 9 was 6,662,000, up 75,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 6,587,000," it added.
Meanwhile, the "insured unemployment rate" stood at five per cent during the same period.
In the wake of the financial crisis, companies are slashing jobs as part of their cost cutting efforts. The jobless rate in the world's largest economy had zoomed to nearly 9 per cent in April.
