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Initial jobless claims fell by 9,000 last week to 397,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists had forecast a decline to 400,000, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, declined to 404,500, from 406,500 the previous week.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Oct. 22 fell by 15,000 to 3.68 million.