Initial Jobless Claims See Biggest Drop Since 2002

Washington, DC, July 21–First-time filings for state unemployment benefits dropped by 34,000 to a seasonally adjusted 303,000 last week, the lowest level in three months and largest decline since December 2002, according to a Labor Department report.

Economists were expecting claims to fall to about 325,000.

The four-week average of new claims – which smoothes out one-time events that can distort the weekly figures – dropped by 3,250 to a four-month low of 318,000.

The number of people receiving unemployment checks fell by 41,000 to 2.577 million in the week ending July 9.