Jobless Claims Drop to Four-Year Low

Initial jobless claims fell last week to the lowest in four years, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Claims declined by 13,000 for the week ended Saturday, to 348,000, Labor said.

Economists had forecast 365,000 new claims, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, declined to 365,250, from 367,000.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Feb. 4 fell by 100,000 to 3.43 million, the lowest since August 2008.