The number of initial jobless claims filed in the United States fell by 7,000 to 340,000 in the week ending March 3rd.

This is the third lowest figure of the last five years, according to data from the US Labor Department on Thursday..

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected a rise to 353,000. The previous week's reading was revised to 347,000 from 344,000.

The four-week moving average also fell by 7,000 to 348,750, the lowest level since March 2008.

Continuous unemployment claims, the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, rose by 3,000 to 3.094m from a revised reading of 3.091m in the prior week (originally: 3.074m). The four-week moving average is also at a post-recession low.

The data suggests a pick-up in the labour market recovery, according to analysts at Barclays Research.

"In all, this is a solid report that suggests that labor markets have continued to improve. In tomorrow's employment report, we continue to look for a 150k rise in nonfarm payrolls, a 155k increase in private payrolls, and a one-tenth drop in the unemployment rate to 7.8%," they said.

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