Initial Jobless Claims Drop for Week

Initial jobless claims fell by 42,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The decrease to 415,000 was larger than analysts’ median forecast 415,000 new claims, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 430,500, from 429,500.

Continuing claims for the previous week ended Jan. 22 fell by 84,000 from a week earlier, to 3.93 million.