Initial Jobless Claims Fall to Nine-Week Low

Initial jobless claims fell by 29,000 last week to the lowest level since Oct. 6, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Claims fell to 343,000 for the week ended Saturday, Labor said.

The initial claims figure was lower than economists’ forecast of 369,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure, fell to 381,000 last week from 408,500.

Continuing jobless claims for the week ended Dec.1 dropped by 23,000 to 3.2 million.