© Reuters.

Investing.com - The number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell to the lowest level since 1969 last week.

The U.S. Department of Labor said that the number of individuals applying for initial jobless benefits in the seven days ended Jan. 19 decreased by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted .

Analysts expected jobless claims to rise by 7,000 to 219,000 last week from the previous week’s total of 212,000.

The four-week moving average was , a decline of 5,500 from the previous week. The monthly average is seen as a more accurate gauge of labor trends because it reduces volatility in the week-to-week data.

Continuing jobless claims in the week ended Jan. 12 fell to from 1.737 million in the preceding week, compared to expectations for an increase to 1.735 million. These claims reflect people who recently lost their jobs and are already receiving benefits.