WASHINGTON – Initial jobless claims fell 24,000 to 456,000 in the week ending April 17, the largest weekly decline in claims since February and the first drop in three weeks, the Labor Department reported today.
Continuing claims fell to 4.646 million for the week ending April 10.
Economists expected 460,000 initial claims and 4.600 million continuing claims, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Initial claims for the week ending April 10 were revised lower to 480,000 from 484,000. Continuing claims were revised to 4.686 million from 4.690 million for the week ending April 3.
The four-week moving average of initial claims, a less volatile figure, increased to 460,250, the fourth consecutive weekly increase and the longest streak of increases in a year. The four-week average for continuing claims fell to 4.644 million for the week ending April 10.
Last week's initial claims figures were estimated for Alaska, a Labor Department official said. Sixteen states reported initial claims increases of more than 1,000 for the week ending April 10. California and New York reported rises of more than 23,000 initial claims each for the week. Two states reported a decline in initial claims of more than 1,000.
Initial claims volatility in prior weeks, due in part to the Easter holiday and the Cesar Chavez holiday in California, showed signs of abating last week, the Labor official said. Initial claims have fallen from a high of 651,000 claims set in March 2009 amid the worst stretch of the current recession.
