Jobless Claims Fall 17,000 for Week

Initial jobless claims fell by 17,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The decline to 421,000 claims was below 425,000 projected by economists, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 427,500 — the lowest level in two years — from 431,500 a week earlier.

Continuing claims for the previous week ended Nov. 27 plunged 191,000 from a week earlier to 4.09 million, below economists’ forecasts.