Initial Jobless Claims Drop 19,000, Labor Dept. Says

he number of U.S. workers filing for initial unemployment benefits fell by 19,000 in the week ended April 2, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The 334,000 claims total was about in line with analysts’ projections, Bloomberg reported. Seasonal factors in the previous week may have accounted for that week’s rise of 20,000 in new claims, Bloomberg reported.

The number of continuing jobless claims rose to 2.688 million people in the week ended March 26, from a four-year low of 2.598 million the previous week.