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Initial jobless claims declined by 6,000 last week to 403,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists had forecast a drop to 400,000 claims, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, declined to 403,000, the lowest since April.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Oct. 8 rose by 25,000 to 3.72 million, Labor said.