Number of Initial Jobless Claims Drops in Latest Week

The number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. fell to 384,000 for the week ended May 5, a level that dropped from an upwardly revised number of 425,000 for the prior week.

Economists had been looking for 417,000 initial claims in the past week.

The four-week average of initial jobless claims fell to 402,500 from a revised 405,500 in the comparable prior period.

For the week ended April 28, the number of initial jobless claims was the highest recorded since the week of March 23, 1996, even before the upward revision. The prior four-week average marked the highest level of jobless claims since Oct. 10, 1992.