Jobless Claims Fall to Five-Year Low

Initial jobless claims fell by 18,000 last week to a five-year low, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Applications for jobless benefits for the week ended Saturday fell to 324,000, the fewest since January 2008, Labor said.

The initial claims figure was lower than economists’ forecast of 345,000, Bloomberg News reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 342,250 last week, from 358,250.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended April 20 rose by 12,000 to 3.02 million.