Initial Jobless Claims Lowest Since Mid-July

Washington, DC, Sept. 10, 2009--Initial jobless claims fell 26,000 to a seasonally adjusted 550,000 last week, the lowest since mid-July, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.

Analysts expected claims to drop to 560,000.

Initial claims have been in a fairly narrow range for the past eight weeks. The number of people collecting regular state benefits fell by 159,000 in the week ending Aug. 29 to a seasonally adjusted 6.09 million, the lowest number since April.