Initial Jobless Claims at Best Level Since April

Washington, DC, July 28, 2011 -- Initial applications for unemployment benefits last week dropped below the 400,000 level for the first time since early April, according to the Labor Department.

Initial claims dropped 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 398,000, the Labor Department said.

Economists had forecast claims falling to 415,000.

The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, fell 8,500 to 413,750.