By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The number of people submitting first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 460,000 in the week ended May 22, a level that still indicates a weak labor market, government data showed Thursday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a initial claims to total 458,000. Jobless claims would have to fall to about 400,000 to indicate a strong hiring trend, economists say. The four-week average of initial claims -- a better gauge of employment trends than the volatile weekly number -- rose 2,250 to 456,500, according to the Labor Department. Initial claims are down 25% from 12 months ago. For the week ended May 15, continuing claims decreased to 4.61 million, down 49,000. The four-week average of these ongoing claims also declined, down 11,500 to 4.64 million -- the lowest level since January 2009. In the week ended May 8, about 5.34 million jobless workers, not seasonally adjusted, were receiving extended federal benefits, down about 2,700 from the prior week. All told, 9.87 million people were collecting some type of unemployment benefits in the week ended May 8, down about 78,000 from the prior week. Extended benefits come into play for some workers who exhaust their eligibility for state unemployment compensation, usually after 26 weeks. Congress has extended benefits for up to 99 weeks in the states hardest hit by the recession. The extension is set to expire soon, and without a further extension, which Congress is working on this week, more than 1 million could lose benefits next month.

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