November 16, 2006 8:30 AM, EST

Initial Jobless Claims Fall 2,000 For Week

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irst-time U.S. jobless claims fell 2,000 last week to 308,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists had expected claims to rise to 311,000 from last week’s initially-reported 308,000, Bloomberg said.

The less-volatile four-week moving average rose to 313,750 from 311,750.

ontinuing jobless claims for the week ended Nov. 4 were flat at 2.443 million.