Jobless Claims Fall to Four-Year Low

Initial jobless claims plunged 30,000 last week to an almost four-year low, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Claims fell to 352,000 for the week ended Saturday, Labor said.

Economists had forecast 384,000 new claims, Bloomberg reported. One Labor Department official told Bloomberg the downturn reflected seasonal volatility.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 379,000, from 382,500 the previous week.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Jan. 7 fell 215,000 to 3.43 million.