Initial Jobless Claims Fall by 19,000 for Week

Initial jobless claims declined by 19,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Claims for the week ended Saturday fell to 326,000, the fewest since January 2008, from a revised 345,000 that was higher than originally reported, Labor said.

The number of claims was above analysts’ median forecast of 345,000 new claims, Bloomberg News reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 345,000.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended July 20 declined by 52,000 to 2.95 million.