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Initial jobless claims fell by 17,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The decline to 421,000 claims was below 425,000 projected by economists, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, fell to 427,500 — the lowest level in two years — from 431,500 a week earlier.

Continuing claims for the previous week ended Nov. 27 plunged 191,000 from a week earlier to 4.09 million, below economists’ forecasts.