Initial Jobless Claims Drop for Week

Initial jobless claims dropped by 12,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Claims fell to 350,000 for the week ended Saturday, Labor said.

The initial claims figure was lower than economists’ forecast of 360,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure, declined to 356,750 last week from 367,750.

Continuing jobless claims for the week ended Dec. 15 dipped by 32,000 to 3.21 million.