NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Jobless claims fell last week, the government said Thursday, below the 400,000 level that many economists believe is a benchmark for labor-market weakness.
The Labor Department report said 382,000 people filed for benefits in the week ended Oct. 4 -- the lowest level since the week of Feb. 8 -- compared with a revised reading of 405,000 in the prior week. Economists, on average, expected 394,000 new claims, according to Briefing.com.
U.S. stock market futures rose after the report, pointing to a positive opening on Wall Street. Treasury bond prices fell.
Many economists view 400,000 jobless claims as the sign of a soft job market. Claims were above 400,000 from mid-February to mid-July, 22 straight weeks. After a brief recovery in late summer, claims rose again and hovered above the 400,000-per-week level throughout September. Still, the Labor Department reported recently that non-farm payrolls grew by 57,000 jobs in September.
The four-week moving average of new claims, which irons out the volatility of the weekly data, fell in the latest week to 393,500 from a revised 405,000 the prior week. The four-week average was the lowest since the week of Feb. 8.
Continued claims, the number of people out of work for a week or more, fell to 3.64 million for the week ended Sept. 27, the latest data available, from a revised 3.65 million the prior week.
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