Jobless Claims Tick Down in Latest Week

Washington, DC, April 19, 2012 -– New applications for unemployment benefits totaled 386,000 in the week ended April 14, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 388,000 from an initial reading of 380,000.

Economists had projected claims would fall to 374,000 in the latest week.

Claims hit a four-year low in mid-February.

The average of new claims over the past four weeks, meanwhile, rose by 5,500 to 374,750, the highest level since late January.