Initial jobless claims fell to 391,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Sept. 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Continuing claims fell to 3.729 million for the week ending Sept. 17.
The last time that initial claims were this low was for the week ending April 2, when they were 385,000. Continuing claims were last this low for the week ending July 30, when they were 3.695 million.
Economists expected 420,000 initial claims and 3.730 million continuing claims, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Initial claims for the week ending Sept. 17 were revised to 417,000. Continuing claims for the September 10 week were revised to 3.749 million.
The four-week moving average for initial claims was 417,000 and was revised to 422,250 for the previous week. The four-week moving average for continuing claims was 3.743 million, down from the preceding week's revised average of 3.748 million. In actual unadjusted numbers, 9 states reported increased claims of more than 1,000, led by New York with 4,389. None reported decreases of more than 1,000.
