Jobless Claims Fall 6,000 To 357,000 in Latest Week

WASHINGTON — Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims fell 6,000 to 357,000 for the week ending March 31, the lowest level since April 19, 2008, when there were 352,000 such claims, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Continuing claims were down 16,000 to 3.338 million for the week ending March 24, the lowest since Aug. 9, 2008, when they were 3.330 million.

The 357,000 initial claims were higher than the median estimate of 355,000 projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters, while the 3.338 million of continuing claims were lower than their median estimate of 3.350 million.