Initial Jobless Claims Fall

Washington, DC, April 21, 2011 -- Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell last week but remained above 400,000 for the second straight week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The number of initial claims in the week ending April 16 fell 13,000 to 403,000.

Economists forecast that claims would fall to 390,000.

The average of new claims over the past four weeks, meanwhile, rose by 2,250 to 399,000.