First-time jobless claims drop by 3,000

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. Labor Department Thursday said first-time jobless benefits claims fell by 3,000 in the week ending Saturday.

Initial unemployment benefits claims for the week came to 382,000, down from the revised figure of 385,000 for the previous week.

The four-week rolling average was 377,750, up 2,000 from the previous week's revised average of 375,750.

The advance number of unadjusted actual first-time jobless benefits claims under state programs totaled 327,797 for the week, an increase of 28,068 from the previous week, the Labor Department said.

There were 353,820 initial benefits claims in the comparable week in 2011, the department's Employment and Training Administration said in a release.