WASHINGTON - Initial jobless claims fell 11,000 to 445,000 for the week ending Oct. 2, the second consecutive weekly decline and the lowest level of initial claims since July, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Continuing claims fell to 4.462 million for the week ending Sept. 25, the fourth straight decline and the first time continuing claims fell below 4.5 million since June.
Economists expected 453,000 initial claims and 4.460 million continuing claims, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Initial claims for the week ending Sept. 25 were revised to 456,000 from the 453,000 initially reported. Continuing claims were revised to 4.51 million for the week ending Sept. 18 from the 4.457 million initially reported.
The four-week moving average of initial claims dropped to 455,750 from 458,750. The four-week average for continuing claims fell to 4,510,750.
Eight states reported a drop of more than 1,000 initial claims for the week ending Sept. 25. Only California reported an increase of more than 1,000 for the week.
