Jobless Claims Decline to Lowest Level in Seven Months

Initial jobless claims decreased by 10,000 last week to 390,000, the lowest level in seven months, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists had forecast 400,000 new claims, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, declined to 400,000, the lowest since April, from 405,250 the previous week.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Oct. 29 fell by 92,000 to 3.62 million.