Jobless Claims Fall 13,000 for Week

Initial jobless claims fell by 13,000 last week to 317,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The less-volatile four-week moving average rose, to 329,750 from 327,750 the previous week, Labor said.

Economists had forecast weekly claims would fall to 325,000, Bloomberg reported.

The number of people continuing to collect benefits fell to 2.579 million for the previous week ended Oct. 27, from 2.583 million the previous week.