Initial Jobless Claims Fall for Week

Initial jobless claims fell by 16,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Applications for jobless benefits for the week ended Saturday fell to 339,000, 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 to 357,500 last week, from 362,000.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended April 13 fell by 93,000 to 3 million.