Initial jobless claims fell by 17,000 compared to the previous week's revised level, suggesting that the increase in the data was more due to the impact of the hurricane than the underlying trend, said Adam Button, analyst at financial website Forexlive. While the decline in initial claims is positive, the rise in renewals suggests that some workers are taking longer to find a new job. Given the recent growth in the data, there is indeed some concern about the data, but today's data is back to its original level, causing the dollar to rise.