Jobless Claims Fall 15,000 To 358,000 in Feb. 4 Week

WASHINGTON — Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims fell to 358,000 for the week ending Feb. 4, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 373,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Continuing claims climbed to 3.515 million for the week ending Jan. 28, an increase of 64,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 3.451 million.

The 358,000 initial claims were lower than the median 370,000 projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters, but the 3.515 million of continuing claims were above the median 3.500 million they estimated.

The four-week moving average for initial claims was 366,250, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 377,250 and the lowest figure since April 26, 2008, when it was 361,500.

The four-week moving average for continuing claims was 3.498 million, which was down 33,000 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3.531 million and the lowest since Sept. 20, 2008, when it was 3.494 million.

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