WASHINGTON – Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims declined to 367,000 for the week ending May 5, while continuing claims fell to 3.229 million for the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The 367,000 of initial claims were down 1,000 from the previous week's revised level of 368,000, originally reported as 365,000.
The 3.229 million of continuing claims for the week ending April 28 was the lowest level since July 19, 2008, when it was 3.224 million. The 3.229 million claims were down 61,000 from the previous week's revised 3.290 million, originally reported as 3.276 million.
The 367,000 of initial claims were lower than the median estimate of 370,000 projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters, and the 3.229 million of continuing claims came in below the economists' median estimate of 3.280 million.
States with the highest increase in initial claims included: Indiana, up 2,294; Florida, up 1,767; Illinois, up 1,512; Pennsylvania, up 1,121; and New Hampshire, up 836. States with the highest decrease in initial claims included: New York, down 21,258; California, down 6,790; Massachusetts, down 2,350; Georgia, down 2,110; and Connecticut, down 1,708.
The four-week moving average for initial claims was 379,000, down 2,000 from the previous week's revised average of 406,500. It was originally reported as 383,500.
The four-week moving average for continuing claims was 3.290 million. That figure, the lowest since it was 3.288 million in the week ended Aug. 9, 2008, was 10,500 lower than the preceding week's revised average of 3.300 million. It was originally reported as 3.297 million.
