Initial Jobless Claims Drop for Week

Initial jobless claims fell to their lowest level since September 2008 last week, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

Claims dropped to 466,000 for the week ended Saturday, Bloomberg reported.

Economists had forecast the rate to drop to 500,000, Bloomberg said.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 496,500, from 513,000.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Nov. 14 fell by 190,000 to 5.423 million, Labor said.