Jobless Claims Decline for Week

Initial jobless claims fell last week and continuing claims reached a new record the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Initial claims declined by 8,000 claims to 623,000 for the week ended Saturday, Labor said.

The level was higher than analysts’ forecasts of a decline to 610,000 from a previously reported 626,000 the week before, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 607,500, from 583,500 a week earlier.

The number of people on continuing claims rose to record 4.81 million for the previous week ended Jan. 31, a new record and the fourth straight decline, Labor said.