By Scott Kanowsky 

-- The number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance unexpectedly edged lower last week, according to Labor Department data on Thursday.

dipped to a seasonally adjusted 191,000 for the week ending on March 18, a decrease from the prior unrevised level of 192,000. Economists had anticipated that the figure would climb to 197,000.

The , which aims to account for volatility in the weekly number, also moved down marginally to 196,250 from 196,500.

Meanwhile, increased by 14,000 to 1.694 million for the week ending on March 11, although the relatively low figure may indicate that workers are readily finding new jobs.

Initial claims have hovered around a fairly tight band throughout 2023 and are still subdued on a historical basis even in the face of a wave of layoffs at large technology firms.

However, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell noted on Wednesday that the labor market will likely see some decline in demand due to the ongoing turmoil in the financial services sector.

The comment came as the bumped up borrowing costs by 25 basis points to its current range of between 4.75% to 5.00%. Economists say this tighter credit environment could lead to a slowdown in bank lending, which may in turn potentially hit households and small businesses - a key driver of job growth in the U.S.