Initial Jobless Claims Fall for Week

Initial jobless claims fell by 5,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Applications for jobless benefits for the week ended Saturday fell to 366,000, Labor said.

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

The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure, fell to 350,500 last week, the lowest since March 2008, from 352,750.

Continuing jobless claims for the week ended Jan. 26 rose by 8,000 to 3.22 million.