Initial Jobless Claims Drop for Week

June 8, 2006 8:40 AM, EDT

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he number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell by 35,000 last week to 302,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The level, the lowest in two months, was below economists’ forecast of 330,000 new claims, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure, fell to 327,750, the highest from 333,500 a week earlier.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended May 27 fell to 2.415 million from 2.42 million a week earlier.