Jobless Claims Fall for Week

Initial jobless claims fell last week by 94,000 claims, to 492,000 for the week ended Saturday, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

The jobless level was greater than analysts’ forecasts of 575,000 claims, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 552,250 from 558,000 a week earlier, Labor said.

Total jobless claims reached a 26-year high, with the number of continuing claims surging to 4.506 million, from 4.37 million for the previous week ended Dec. 20 — the highest level since December 1982, Labor said.