Initial Jobless Claims Drop for Week

Initial jobless claims decreased last week by 3,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Claims decreased to 382,000 for the week ended Saturday, Labor said.

The initial claims figure was higher than economists’ forecasts of 375,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure, climbed to 377,750 last week, the highest in two months, from 375,750.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Sept. 8 declined by 332,000, to 3.27 million.