WASHINGTON — Initial jobless claims decreased 24,000 to 435,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended Nov. 6, more than canceling out the upwardly revised 22,000 increase reported the previous week, the Labor Department reported Wednesday morning.
Continuing claims for the week ended Oct. 30 dropped to 4.301 million. That was the third decline in four weeks and the lowest level since the week of Nov. 22, 2008.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected 450,000 initial claims and 4.500 million continuing claims.
Continuing claims for the week ended Oct. 23 were upwardly revised to 4.387 million.