Initial Jobless Claims Drop By 10,000

Initial jobless claims fell 10,000 to 424,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Economists had forecast the rate to drop to 404,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 438,500 from 440,250 last week.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended May 14 fell 46,000 to 3.69 million, Labor said.