Jobless Claims Drop 15,000 for Week

Initial jobless claims fell by 15,000 last week to 338,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The less-volatile four-week moving average rose to 340,250 — the highest in more than two years — from 335,500 the previous week, Labor said.

The claims were within the range of economists’ forecasts, Bloomberg reported.

The number of people continuing to collect benefits fell to 2.599 million for the previous week ended Nov. 24, from 2.658 million the previous week.