Jobless Claims Drop

Washington, DC, May 3, 2007--The number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell by 21,000 to the lowest level of claims since January, a Labor Department report showed on Thursday.

Initial filings for state unemployment insurance claims slid to 305,000 in the week ending April 28 from an upwardly revised 326,000 the previous week.

Analysts hadwere expecting claims to increase by 4,000.

A four-week moving average of claims, which smoothes weekly volatility to provide a better sense of underlying job-market trends, slipped to 328,750 from a revised 333,250 a week earlier.