WASHINGTON — Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims fell to 372,000 in the week ended Dec. 31, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 387,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Continuing claims decreased to 3.595 million for the week ending Dec. 24, a decline of 22,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 3.617 million.
The 372,000 initial claims were fewer than the median 375,000 projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters and the 3.595 million of continuing claims were greater than the median 3.580 million they estimated.
The four-week moving average for initial claims was 373,250, a decrease of 3,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 376,500 and the lowest since June 7, 2008, when it was 372,750.
The four-week moving average for continuing claims was 3.602 million, a decline of 1,000 from the preceding week’s revised average.
