June 21, 2012 8:45 AM, EDT

Initial Jobless Claims Decline

Initial jobless claims fell by 2,000 last week, to 387,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The figure was higher than economists’ forecasts of 383,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 386,250, the highest of the year, from 382,750.

The number of people receiving continuous jobless benefits was unchanged at 3.3 million for the previous week ended June 9.