Initial Unemployment Claims Edge Down

Washington, DC, June 2, 2011 -- New claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, according to the Labor Department.

Initial claims dropped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 422,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday, less than economists' expectations of 415,000.

The four-week moving average of new jobless claims, considered a better gauge of labor market trends, fell 14,000 to 425,500.

Initial claims have now been perched above the 400,000 mark for eight weeks in a row. Analysts normally associate that level with steady job growth.