By Ruth Mantell
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The number of people applying for initial unemployment benefits fell 3,000 to 456,000 in the week ended June 5, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected an initial claims level of 445,000. The four-week average of initial claims - a better gauge of employment trends than the volatile weekly number - rose 2,500 to 463,000. Continuing claims in the week ended May 29 - the latest data available - decreased 255,000 to 4.46 million - the lowest level since December 2008. The four-week average of these continuing claims fell 49,250 to 4.62 million - the lowest level since January 2009. States did not explain to the Labor Department why continuing claims dropped, and it may take a couple of weeks to understand the volatility of the data. The total number of people collecting some type of unemployment benefits in the week ended May 22 was about 9.8 million, up 40,000 from the prior week.
