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Initial jobless claims decreased by 7,000 last week to 395,000, a four-month low, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists had forecast a rate of 405,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 405,000, from 408,250.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended July 30 dropped by 60,000 to 3.69 million, Labor said.