Initial Jobless Claims Fall

Washington, DC, March 25, 2010--Initial jobless claims fell 14,000 in the week ended March 20 to 442,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists  predicted claims would drop to 450,000, but the latest figures reflect annual revisions to the data that put claims 10,000 lower than they would have been under the old methodology, a Labor official said.

The four-week average declined by 11,000 to 453,750.