Jobless Claims Decrease for Week

Initial jobless claims fell by 43,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Claims dropped to 440,000, the lowest level in five weeks, Bloomberg reported. Last week's claims revised to 483,000, up from the 480,000 originally reported.

Economists had forecast claims would fall to 465,000, Bloomberg said.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Jan. 30 fell to 4.54 million, the lowest level since January 2009, Labor said.