WASHINGTON - Initial jobless claims fell 12,000 to 409,000 in the week ended Aug. 27, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Continuing claims fell to 3.735 million in the week ended Aug. 20.
Economists expected 410,000 initial claims and 3.665 million continuing claims, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Initial claims for the week ending Aug. 20 were revised to 421,000 from 417,000. Continuing claims for the August 13 week were revised to 3.753 million from 3.641 million in last week's report.
The four-week moving average for initial claims was 410,250, up from a revised 408,500. The four-week average for continuing claims was 3.726 million, down from a revised 3.729 million.
The was no effect from Verizon labor dispute in this week's report as workers returned to their jobs, a Labor Department official said.
Initial claims have remained above 400,000 since April. "We still believe businesses are responding to the tightening in financial markets," Moody's Analytics said in its forecast, "and this will keep claims elevated."
