The number of initial jobless claims in the United States dropped by 8,000 last week, almost reaching its lowest level since October 1969, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday.

In the week ending April 6, the number of people filing for unemployment benefits dropped to 196,000 from the previous week's revised figure, said the report.

The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 202,000 to 204,000, according to the department.

The report also showed that the four-week moving average of initial claims, a method to iron out data volatility, dropped by 7,000 to 207,000 last week while the previous week's average was revised up from 213,500 to 214,000.

A lower reading in jobless claims could indicate lower overall layoffs. As an important leading indicator to reflect unemployment status in the country, the reading of jobless claims remained below the 300,000 threshold, signaling a tight labor market in the United States.

The economy added 196,000 jobs in March, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.8 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on April 5.

As tightness persisted in the labor market, the latest minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting showed that the central bank was still "patient" on further rate hikes.