Jobless Claims Decline for Week

Initial jobless claims fell by 12,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Claims decreased to 308,000, Labor said.

The less-volatile four-week moving average also fell, to 310,250 from 312,250 claims the previous week, Labor said.

Economists had forecast weekly claims to fall to 315,000, Bloomberg reported.

The number of people continuing to collect benefits fell to 2.521 million for the previous week ended Sept. 29, the lowest since mid-June, from 2.536 million the previous week.