December 1, 2005 8:40 AM, EST

Initial Jobless Claims Fall by 17,000 for Week

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

he number of U.S. workers filing initial unemployment benefits fell 17,000 to 320,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The drop in new claims for the week ended Nov. 26 led to a jobless level that was below the 325,000 predicted by economists, Bloomberg reported.

Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma accounted for about 9,600 claims, Labor said.

The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure, fell to 322,500 from 323,750 a week earlier, Labor said.

The number of people filing continuing jobless claims fell to 2.767 million for the previous week ended Nov. 19, from 2.791 million a week earlier, Labor said.