Jobless Claims Drop to Nine-Month Low

Initial jobless claims fell by 23,000 last week to 381,000, the fewest since February, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists had forecast 395,000 new claims, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, decreased to 393,250, from 396,250 the previous week.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Nov. 26 fell by 174,000 to 3.58 million, the fewest since September 2008.