Jobless Claims Decline for Week

Initial jobless claims fell by 3,000 last week to the lowest level in three weeks, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The decline to 420,000 was below a projected increase to 425,000 claims, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 422,750 — the lowest level since Aug. 2, 2008 — from 428,000 a week earlier.

Continuing claims for the previous week ended Dec. 4 rose 22,000 from a week earlier to 4.14 million, slightly higher than economists’ forecasts, Bloomberg said.