WASHINGTON -- Initial jobless claims fell 16,000 to 453,000 for the week ending Sept. 25, from a revised 469,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported today.
For the week ending Sept. 18, continuing claims also fell 83,000 to 4.457 million from 4.540 million.
The figures were just below median projections of economists, who had expected 460,000 initial claims and 4.480 million continuing claims, according to Thomson Reuters.
The 469,000 initial claims figure for the week ending Sept. 18 was upwardly revised from an originally-reported 465,000. The previous week's revised 4.540 million in continuing claims was also upwardly revised from an originally reported 4.489 million.
For the week ending Sept. 25, the four-week average of initial claims, a less volatile figure, fell 6,250 to 458,000 from 464,250 the previous week. Last week's decrease was the fifth straight week the four-week average has declined following four consecutive increases. Meanwhile the four-week average for continuing claims fell to 4.527 million from 4.532 million.
