Jobless Claims Fall 27,000 to 365,000 in Week Ended April 28

WASHINGTON – Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims declined to 365,000 for the week ending April 28, while continuing claims fell to 3.276 million for the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The 365,000 of initial claims were down 27,000 from the previous week's revised level of 392,000, originally reported as 388,000.

Continuing claims for the week ending April 21 slid 53,000 from the previous week's revised level of 3.329 million, originally reported as 3.315 million.

The 365,000 of initial claims were lower than the median estimate of 380,000 projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters, and the 3.276 million of continuing claims came in below their median estimate of 3.310 million.

The decrease in initial claims was led by large decreases in claims from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the Labor Department reported. Those were partially offset by increases in claims stemming from layoffs in transportation, education, public administration, and manufacturing in New York.

The four-week moving average for initial claims was 383,500. That figure, the highest since it was 386,000 on Dec. 10, 2011, was up 750 from the previous week's revised average of 382,750. It was originally reported as 381,750.

The four-week moving average for continuing claims was 3.297 million. That figure, the lowest since it was 3.288 million Aug. 9, 2008, was 18,250 lower than the preceding week's revised average of 3.315 million. It was originally reported as 3.312 million.

The Labor Department reported that the data for Alaska was estimated.

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