Jobless Claims Decline for Week

Initial jobless claims fell by 2,000 last week and continuing clams fell to the lowest level in more than three years, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The 402,000 claims level was about in line with economists’ forecasts, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 405,500, from 403,000 the previous week.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Oct. 15 fell by 96,000 to 3.65 million, the lowest since September 2008.