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Initial jobless claims fell by 3,000 last week to the lowest level in three weeks, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The decline to 420,000 was below a projected increase to 425,000 claims, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 422,750 — the lowest level since Aug. 2, 2008 — from 428,000 a week earlier.

Continuing claims for the previous week ended Dec. 4 rose 22,000 from a week earlier to 4.14 million, slightly higher than economists’ forecasts, Bloomberg said.