WASHINGTON - Initial jobless claims dropped 23,000 to 452,000 for the week ending Oct. 16, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Continuing claims fell to 4.441 million for the week ending Oct. 9, the lowest level since June. Continuing claims for the week ending Oct. 2 were revised higher to 4.450 million.
Economists expected 455,000 initial claims and 4.410 million continuing claims, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Initial claims for the week ending Oct. 9 were revised higher to 475,000 from 462,000. The revision, which was larger than usual, came as many states estimated their data after the Columbus Day holiday, a Labor Department official said. Those estimates were often lower than the actual claims data, contributing to the increase in the revised initial claims figure. Twenty-five states reported an increase of more than 1,000 initial claims for the week. The revised increase in initial claims, at 26,000, was the largest weekly increase since May.
Initial claims data for the Virgin Islands was estimated for the week ending Oct. 16, the Labor official said.
The four-week moving average of initial claims, a less volatile figure, fell to 458,000 from 462,250. The four-week average for continuing claims fell to 4.478 million, the lowest level since December 2008.
