Jobless Claims Drop Sharply, Beat Forecast

In a hopeful sign for the economy, new claims for unemployment benefits�fell more than expected last week, according to data released by the Labor Department this morning.

First-time unemployment claims fell by 27,000 to 365,000 last week.

What the March Jobs Report Survey Says

Reuters noted that this was the largest weekly drop since last May and exceeded the forecast of economists who had expected 380,000 new claims.

The four-week average of unemployment claims moved up slightly to 383,500.

The Labor Department also revised upward the number of jobless claims filed during the week before from 388,000 to 392,000.

According to the government, 6.6 million people received some form of unemployment benefits last week, though that number declined as some found jobs while others’ extended benefits expired.

Reuters noted that economists predict that employers added 170,000 jobs during the month of April, up from 120,000 in March. The Labor Department will release the jobs report for April on Friday.