First-time jobless claims drop by 5,000

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. Labor Department said first-time jobless benefits claims fell by 5,000 to 366,000 in the week that ended Saturday.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped to 366,000 from 371,000, which is an upwardly revised figure from last week's claims previously announced 368,000.

The four-week rolling average for the week fell 2,250 to 350,500.

The unadjusted advance number of first-time unemployment benefits claims under state programs totaled 386,176 for the week, a 16,696 increase from the previous week, the Labor Department said.

For the comparable week of 2012, there were 401,365 initial claims.