December 14, 2006 8:40 AM, EST

First-Time Jobless Claims Dip by 20,000 for Week

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irst-time U.S. jobless claims fell by 20,000 last week to 304,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The level was about in line with economists’ forecasts of a decline to 320,000, Bloomberg reported.

The less-volatile four-week moving average rose to 327,250 from 328,750.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Dec. 2 fell to 2.477 million from 2.51 million a week earlier.