First-time jobless claims drop by 12,000

The U.S. Labor Department said 12,000 fewer first-time jobless claims were filed in the week ending Saturday. Initial unemployment benefits claims for the week came to 365,000, a decline from the revised figure of 371,000 for the previous week. The four-week rolling average was 371,250, up 250 from the previous week's revised average of 371,000. The advance number of unadjusted actual first-time jobless benefits claims under state programs totaled 307,831 for the week, a decrease of 4,280 from the previous week, the Labor Department said. There were 348,582 initial claims in the comparable week in 2011, the department's Employment and Training Administration said in a release.