Initial, Continuing Jobless Claims Decline

Initial jobless claims fell last week, as did continuing claims, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Initial claims fell by 31,000, to 639,000 for the week ended Saturday, Labor said.

Analysts had forecast that initial claims would fall to 625,000 from the 627,000 initially reported the prior week, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 641,750, the highest level in more than 26 years.

The number of people receiving continuing claims fell to 5.106 million for the previous week ended Feb. 21, from a record 5.12 million the prior week.