Initial Jobless Claims Off

Washington, DC, June 8, 2006–Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to 302,000, well below what economists were expecting, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

First-time claims fell by 35,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 337,000.

The four-week average of new claims fell by 5,750 to 327,750.

Economists were expecting claims to come in at 326,000 for the week ending June 3.