Jobless Claims Drop by 9,000

Initial jobless claims declined by 6,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Sept. 5.

Claims for the week ended Aug. 31 fell to 323,000 from a revised 332,000 the prior week.

The number of claims was below analysts’ median forecast of 330,000 new claims, Bloomberg News reported. It was also below the lowest forecast of the 50 analysts Bloomberg surveyed.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 328,500, the lowest since October 2007, from 331,500, the previous week.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Aug. 24 declined by 43,000 to 2.95 million.