Jobless Claims Decline for Week

Initial jobless claims fell by 8,000 last week to 301,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The less-volatile four-week moving average fell to 312,000 claims from 318,250.

Economists had forecast an increase to 311,000 claims, Bloomberg reported.

The number of people continuing to collect benefits fell to 2.571 million for the previous week ended July 7, from 2.551 million a week earlier, Labor reported.