MarketWatch (09/20/12) Jeffrey Bartash
Applications for U.S. jobless benefits fell by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 382,000 in the week ended Sept. 15, the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected claims to drop to 375,000. Initial claims from two weeks ago, partly inflated by hurricane Isaac, were revised up to 385,000 from an original reading of 382,000. The average of new claims over the past month, meanwhile, rose by 2,000 to 377,750, the highest level since late June.