Initial Jobless Claims Fall to Five-Year Low

Initial jobless claims fell by 4,000 last week to a five-year low, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Applications for jobless benefits for the week ended Saturday fell to 323,000, the fewest since January 2008, Labor said.

The initial claims figure was lower than economists’ forecast of 335,000, Bloomberg News reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 336,750 last week, the lowest level since November 2007, from 342,250.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended April 27 fell by 27,000 to 3.01 million.