Weekly Jobless Claims Fall 15K

(MarketWatch) - The number of Americans filing initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 15,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 358,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

A survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires expected claims to rise by 3,000 in the week ended Feb. 4 to 370,000.

Claims from two weeks ago were revised up by 6,000 to 373,000. The four-week average of claims, meanwhile, dropped by 11,000 to 366,250, the lowest level since April 2008. The monthly average smooths out seasonal quirks and provides a more accurate assessment of labor-market trends, economists say.

The government also said that continuing claims increased by 64,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 3.52 million in the week ended Jan. 28. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.

About 7.66 million people received some kind of state or federal benefit in the week ended Jan. 21, up 7,982 from the prior week. Total claims are reported with a two-week lag.

US stock futures extended gains after the better-than-expected jobless report, also boosted by reports that Greek politicians finally reached a deal on new austerity measures.

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