MW: Weekly U.S. jobless claims drop 14,000 to 374,000
By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The number of Americans who filed requests for jobless benefits declined by 14,000 last week to 374,000, the lowest level in six weeks. Claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 388,000 from an originally reported 386,000, according to U.S. Labor Department data. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had projected claims would total 386,000 in the week ended June 30. The average of new claims over the past four weeks, meanwhile, dropped by 1,500 to 385,750, though it's still near the highest level of the year. Continuing claims rose 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.31 million in the week ended June 23, the Labor Department said. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag. About 5.87 million people received some kind of state or federal benefit in the week ended June 16, down 20,439 from the prior week. Total claims are reported with a two-week lag.
