WASHINGTON – Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims fell to 351,000 for the week ending Feb.25, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 353,000, originally reported as 351,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Continuing claims were down to 3.402 million for the week ending Feb. 18, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level of 3.404 million, originally reported as 3.392 million. The 3.402 million level was the lowest since Aug. 23, 2008, when it was 3.395 million.
The 351,000 initial claims were close to the 352,000 projection from economists polled by Thomson Reuters, and the 3.402 million continuing claims were slightly higher than the median estimate of 3.400 million.
The four-week moving average for initial claims was 354,000, a decrease of 5,500 from the previous week's revised average of 359,500 and the lowest figure since March 15, 2008, when it was 351,000.
The four-week moving average for continuing claims was 3.444 million, a decrease of 12,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 3.456 million average and the lowest since Sept. 6, 2008, when it was 3.424 million.
