Initial Jobless Claims Fall by 22,000

Washington, DC, February 7, 2008—First time jobless claims dropped by 22,000 in the week ended Feb. 2, reversing the trend from the previous week.

The Labor Department said first-time claims for the latest week stood at 356,000, the lowest level in two weeks.

The prior week's numbers were revised higher, to 378,000 from 375,000.

The average number of workers filing claims over the past four weeks rose by 8,500 to 335,000. It's the highest since Jan. 5.

Continuing jobless claims rose to the highest level since October 2005.

For the week ended Jan. 26, continuing claims to 2.78 million.