Initial Jobless Claims Fall Unexpectedly

Washington, DC, April 24, 2008-- Initial jobless claims fell unexpectedly last week by 33,000, according to the Labor Department, though the number of workers remaining on jobless benefits continued at a high level.

Initial claims for jobless benefits decreased to a seasonally adjusted 342,000 in the week ended April 19, from a revised 375,000 in the prior week.

The four-week moving average fell to 369,500 from 376,750.

The number of workers on jobless benefits fell to 2.934 million for the week ended April 12, the most recent week the figures were available, from 2.999 million the previous week. However, it was the fourth straight week in which continuing claims remained above 2.9 million.

Analysts were expecting continuing claims to hit 3 million during the April 12 week.