Jobless Claims Fell to 529,000 Last Week

First-time unemployment claims fell by 14,000 last week, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

Initial jobless claims fell for the week ended Saturday from the previous week, to 529,000, Labor said.

The level was less than analysts’ forecasts of 535,000 claims for the week, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 518,000, the highest since January 1983, from 507,000 a week ago.

The number of continuing claims fell to 3.962 million, for the previous week ended Nov. 15.

Job losses this year have totaled 1.5 million, Bloomberg reported.