By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The number of people filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell 31,000 to 473,000 in the latest week, the first decline in one month, according to data from the Labor Department issued Thursday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected initial claims to drop to 490,000 in the week ended Aug 21. The four-week average of initial claims -- a better gauge of employment trends than the volatile weekly number -- rose slightly, up 3,250 to 486,750. Altogether, 10.2 million people were collecting some type of unemployment benefits in the week ended Aug. 7, up from 9.9 million, the government reported.
