US Jobless Claims Fell to 339,000 Last Week

Fall of 2,000

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The number of people who applied for new unemployment benefits edged down by 2,000 to 339,000 in the week ended Nov. 9, theLabor Department said Thursday, but the level of claims remained above end-of-summer levels. Five states, including California and Virginia, used estimates because of processing delays caused by the Veteran's Day holiday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected claims to fall to 335,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis. The average of new claims over the past month, a more reliable gauge than the volatile weekly number, dropped by 5,750 to 344,000.