The number of U.S. initial jobless claims decreased last week, and the labor market remained tight, according to a report released by the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday.

In the week which ends Oct. 13, the number of people filing for U.S. unemployment benefits stood at 210,000, dropping by 5,000 from previous week's revised figure, said the report.

According to the department, the previous week's figure was revised up from 214,000 to 215,000.

The report also showed that four-week average of initial claims increased by 2,000 to 211,750 last week, as the previous week's average was revised up from 209,500 to 209,750.

The reading of initial jobless claims remained below the 300,000 threshold, which is associated with a strong labor market.

U.S. Federal Reserve also said that job gains in the United States were strong and the unemployment rate stayed low, signaling that the central bank would continue to raise interest rates in December, according to the minutes of the Fed's Sept. 25-26 policy meeting released on Wednesday.

"Participants generally anticipated that further gradual increases in the target range for the federal funds rate would most likely be consistent with a sustained economic expansion, strong labor market conditions, and inflation near 2 percent over the medium term," said the minutes.