Initial Jobless Claims Fall to One-Year Low

Initial jobless claims fell to their lowest level in a year, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Claims fell 5,000 to 457,000 for the week ended Saturday, Labor said.

Economists had forecast the rate to rise to 480,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 481,250, from 495,500 the previous week.

Continuing jobless claims for the week before last that ended Nov. 21 rose 28,000 to 5.47 million, Labor said.