Initial Jobless Claims Fall Sharply

Washington, DC, Feb. 3, 2011 -- Initial jobless claims fell sharply last week after the previous week's increase, according to the Labor Department.

Claims decreased by 42,000 to 415,000 compared with revised figure of 457,000 in the previous week, the government said on Thursday.

Markets had expected the jobless claims to decrease to 425,000.

However, the seasonally adjusted four-week moving average of initial claims -- considered as a more accurate measure of employment trends than the weekly number -- increased by 1,000 to 430,500.

Georgia had the largest increase in claims with 10,335.