WASHINGTON – Initial jobless claims fell 10,000 to 390,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Nov. 5, their lowest level since April 2 when they were at 385,000, Labor Department reported Thursday.
Continuing claims fell to 3.615 million for the week ending Oct. 29.
The initial claims figure was lower than the 400,000 median estimate from economists polled by Thomson Reuters. And continuing claims were lower than the economists’ median projection of 3.690 million.
Initial claims for the week ending Oct. 29 were revised to 400,000. Continuing claims for the week ending Oct. 22 were revised to 3.707 million.
The four-week moving average for initial claims was 400,000, after being revised to 405,250 for the previous week. The four-week moving average for continuing claims was 3.690 million, compared to the preceding week's revised average of 3.710 million.
Department officials estimated claims for New Jersey and West Virginia, but said the numbers eventually reported by the states were close to the estimates.
In unadjusted numbers, four states reported decreases of more than 1,000 claims, led by California, which was down 5,633. Two reported increases of more than 1,000, led by Michigan, which was up 1,467.
