Initial Jobless Claims Fall to Two-Month Low

Initial jobless claims fell by 10,000 last week to 332,000, the lowest level in two months, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Applications for jobless benefits for the week ended Saturday fell to the lowest level since mid-January, Labor said.

The initial claims figure was lower than economists’ forecast of 350,000, Bloomberg News reported.

The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure, fell by 2,000 to 346,750 last week, the lowest level since March 2008.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended March 2 fell by 89,000 to 3.02 million.