By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The number of people applying for initial unemployment benefits fell by 10,000 to 453,000 in the latest week, the U.S. government reported.Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected initial claims to fall to 455,000. Yet the four-week average of initial claims - a better gauge of employment trends than the volatile weekly number - rose by 1,750 to 459,000, according to the Labor Department. It was the third straight increase. Continuing claims in the week ended May 22 - the latest data available - increased 31,000 to 4.67 million.
