WASHINGTON – Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims fell to 366,000 for the week ending Dec. 10, a 19,000 decrease from the previous week's revised level of 385,000 and the lowest level since May 31, 2008, when claims were 365,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Continuing claims climbed to 3.603 million for the week ending Dec.3, 4,000 more than the previous week's revised figure of 3.599 million.
The 366,000 of initial claims was much lower than the median 390,000 projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters, and the 3.603 million of continuing claims were below the median 3.630 million level they estimated.
The four-week moving average for initial claims was 387,750, a decrease of 6,500 from the previous week's revised average of 394,250.
The four-week moving average for continuing claims was 3.666 million, a decrease of 5,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 3.671 million.
Twenty-five states had increases of more than 1,000 in unadjusted initial claims for the week ending Dec. 3, led by California, where claims rose 27,780. Two states had declines of more than 1,000 in adjusted claims for that week, led by Iowa, where claims were down 1,785.
