Initial Jobless Claims Fall More Than Expected

Washington, DC, Feb. 24, 2011 -- Initial jobless claims fell more than expected last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Initial claims decreased by 22,000 to 391,000 in the week ended Feb.19 from an upwardly revised 413,000 in the previous week. Economists were expecting initial claims to stay stable at 410,000.

The number of Americans filing continuing claims -- those who have been receiving unemployment insurance for at least a week -- was significantly lower as well at 3.79 million for the week ended Feb.12, a decrease of 145,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 3.93 million.

The four-week moving average in initial claims, which smoothes the volatility in week-to-week reports, was 402,000, a decrease of 16,500 from the previous week's revised average of 418,500.