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Initial jobless claims fell 10,000 to 424,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Economists had forecast the rate to drop to 404,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 438,500 from 440,250 last week.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended May 14 fell 46,000 to 3.69 million, Labor said.