For the week ending February 4, initial jobless claims fell 15,000 to 358,000. This is near the 4-year low of 355,000 set week ending January 14 2012. The 4-week average, considered a more accurate gauge of labor trends, also fell, dropping 11,000 to 366,250. This is the lowest 4-week average since April 2008.
Initial jobless claims measure the number of people (non industry-specific) filing first-time claims for state unemployment insurance and are a leading indicator on the health of the labor market. The declining number of new unemployment claims has steadily dropped over the past two years.
