Initial Jobless Claims Fall for Week

Initial jobless claims fell by 38,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Claims for the week ended Saturday fell to 584,000, Labor said in its weekly report.

The drop in new claims was greater than analysts' predictions of a 4,000 decline, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, to 555,250, from 560,000 a week earlier, Labor said.

The number of Americans collecting jobless benefits rose by 31,000, to 6.31 million for the previous week ended July 25.