Jobless Claims Hold Near Four-Year Low

Initial jobless claims held steady last week at the lowest level in nearly four years, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Claims for the week ended Saturday remained at 351,000, the fewest since March 2008, Labor said.

Economists had forecast 355,000 new claims, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, dropped to 359,000, from 366,000.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Feb. 11 fell by 52,000 to 3.39 million.