US unemployment benefits applications fell last week by the most since October 2021.

Initial jobless claims decreased by 26,000 to 239,000 in the week ended June 24, which included the Juneteenth holiday, according to the Labor Department's Thursday report. The figure was lower than all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. 

Continuing claims, which include those who have received unemployment benefits for more than one week, dropped to 1.7 million for the week ended June 17.

A separate report Thursday showed US first-quarter gross domestic product was revised up significantly to a 2% annualized advance, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis' third estimate of the figure. The stronger print reflected upward adjustments to exports and consumer spending.

Consumer spending, the engine of the US economy, rose at a 4.2% pace in the first three months of the year -- the strongest pace in nearly two years.

Source: Bloomberg