WASHINGTON - Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims dropped to 377,000 for the week ending June 2, while the number of continuing claims climbed to 3.293 million for the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The 377,000 initial claims were down 12,000 from the previous week's revised level of 389,000, originally reported as 383,000.
The 3.293 million continuing claims for the week ending May 26 was the highest level since April 14, when there were 3.329 million such claims. The 3.293 million claims increased 34,000 from the previous week's revised level of 3.259 million claims, originally reported as 3.242 million claims.
The 377,000 initial claims were equal to the median estimate projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters, and the 3.293 million of continuing claims came in above the economists' median estimate of 3.240 million.
The four-week moving average for initial claims was 377,750, up 1,750 from the previous week's revised average of 376,000, originally reported as 374,500.
The four-week moving average for continuing claims was 3.280 million, down 11,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 3.268 million claims, originally reported as 3.264 million claims.
The Department of Labor said the week's claims data includes reports from all states.
