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Initial jobless claims fell by 27,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Applications for jobless benefits for the week ended Saturday fell to 341,000, Labor said.

The initial claims figure was lower than economists’ forecast of 360,000, Bloomberg News reported.

The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure, rose to 352,500 last week from 351,000.

Continuing jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 2 fell by 130,000 to 3.11 million, the lowest level since July 2008.