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Initial jobless claims fell by 42,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The decrease to 415,000 was larger than analysts’ median forecast 415,000 new claims, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 430,500, from 429,500.

Continuing claims for the previous week ended Jan. 22 fell by 84,000 from a week earlier, to 3.93 million.