Jobless Claims Drop for Week

Initial jobless claims decreased 22,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The drop to 391,000 new claims put the total lower than analysts’ forecasts of 405,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 402,000, from 418,500 the previous week.

Continuing claims for the previous week ended Feb. 12 decreased by 145,000 from a week earlier, to 3.88 million.